10 January 2017, 11:31 GMT
MINSK (Sputnik) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denied rumors on Friday that construction of facilities for migrants illegally coming to Belarus will result in relocation of refugees from the European Union to Belarus.
"I want to warn that there will be no ‘dumpster’ in Belarus. We do not need outsider migrants here," Lukashenko said, as quoted by the Belta news agency.
He pointed out that the European Union should allocate money not only for accommodating migrants but also for their further extradition.
Belarus’s Interior Ministry said last week it had formed a working group for the project of building facilities for immigrants coming to the country illegally.
Centers would be built with EU money through the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), which administers EU funds for external actions. As Belarus is not part of EU’s relocation scheme, Syrian refugees will not be involved, according to Belarusian authorities.
Russia is concerned with the initiative as it in fact has no border control at the border with Belarus.
