Too early to 'de-escalate' Belarus crisis, says EU official

The crisis with Belarus has not "de-escalated" in the wake of asylum seekers being placed in shelters in Belarus, and others repatriated to Iraq from Minsk, said an EU senior official.

"It is far too early to speak about any de-escalation," the official told reporters last week in an off-record press briefing.

"So far, some very minor first steps have been taken by the authorities which have to be followed up by many more steps," he said.

The statement follows the removal of...