Russia blames the European Union for the migrant crisis at the border between Poland and Belarus. The Kremlin, Belarus’ key ally, has called “unacceptable” the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Russia is responsible.
According to the Kremlin, the European Union fails to uphold its humanitarian values and is trying to “strangle” Belarus with plans to close the border. A government spokesman in Warsaw has said a complete shutdown is being considered at a later stage.
Thousands of people from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have already made the crossing since August. There are probably still thousands of migrants in Belarus who are trying to reach the EU via Poland. On the border with Poland, hundreds of migrants stay in a makeshift tent camp despite the low temperatures.
Belarusian foreign minister Vladimir Makej said during a visit to Moscow on Wednesday that the crisis was “provoked” by the European Union and EU member states bordering Belarus. The regime in Minsk hopes, together with the Russians, to “respond jointly against the unfriendly actions against the country”.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced that he would no longer stop migrants after the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus for cracking down on protests against his regime. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of an “anti-Belarusian campaign” from the United States and European allies.