EU official: No dealing with 'desperate' Lukashenko

The European Union's home affairs commissioner says the 27-member bloc stands firm on its regime of sanctions against Belarus' authoritarian president who's “pushing" migrants into the EU out of “desperation."

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The European Union stands firm on its regime of sanctions against Belarus’ authoritarian president who is “pushing” migrants into the EU out of “desperation,” a senior official from the bloc said Tuesday.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko “is not a partner we are ready to cooperate with,” and that the 27-member bloc can't accept his actions.

“We have seen Lukashenko is a desperate person that now are under the sanctions from the European Union and he can’t really deal with that," Johansson said after talks with Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris.

“So he’s acting in ... desperation, importing people for the only purpose to send them or actually push them into the European Union. And of course, we can’t accept that."