Washington is now closely monitoring the increase in the number of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. Tensions between the two countries are high, especially because of the migration crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland.
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The European Union accuses Minsk of having organized these migratory movements, by issuing visas and chartering flights, in revenge for Western sanctions imposed on the Lukashenko regime last year after the brutal repression of opponents.
In a telephone interview with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the second in two days, Mr Putin said that the resolution of this “serious migratory crisis” required “the reestablishment of contacts between the countries of the EU and the Belarus ”, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
But, at the end of patience, Berlin judged Thursday that it was “high time to draw the consequences” of this crisis by strengthening the sanctions against the regime of Mr. Lukashenko. Measures are expected early next week, according to Brussels.
At the United Nations, in New York, the European and American members of the Security Council condemned in a joint declaration an “orchestrated instrumentalization of human beings” by Belarus in order to “destabilize the external border of the European Union”.
The United States has warned Europe of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Washington is now closely monitoring the increase in the number of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. Tensions between the two countries are high, especially because of the migration crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland.
Gas threat
With Russian support, Lukashenko threatened Thursday to respond to possible sanctions by shutting off the valves of a major gas pipeline supplying Europe, at a time when the continent is already facing shortages.
“What would happen if we cut the natural gas going out there? “, Launched the one who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994.
But in an exclusive interview with AFP, his main opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, who lives in exile, estimated that Lukashenko was “bluffing”, calling on the EU not to dialogue with this “illegitimate” leader.
Brussels accuses Minsk of having put in place logistics to attract and transport migrants to the Polish border, with the promise of easy access to the Schengen area.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who accused Lukashenko’s regime of “state terrorism”, said Thursday that his country was the target of a “war of a new kind” with civilians being used as ” ammunition ”.
Caught in a vice
Warsaw further claims Belarusian security forces are firing shots into the air to force migrants to advance.
Minsk in turn argues that Polish border guards violate international standards by pushing them back with violence.
Caught in a stranglehold, many migrants, including children and women, are stuck in the wooded border area.
This is particularly the case for more than 2,000 people, including Kurds, who have been stranded for several days in a makeshift camp, where they warm themselves by burning wood to withstand temperatures close to 0ºC.
“Emergency humanitarian aid,” including blankets, warm clothing and diapers, was delivered to them on Thursday, said a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, ten migrants have died in the border area since the start of this crisis.
Be on the look-out
Faced with this influx, Poland deployed 15,000 troops, erected a fence topped with barbed wire and approved the construction of a border wall.
Warsaw has recorded more than 32,000 intrusion attempts on its territory since August, including 17,300 in October.
In Sokolka, a Polish town located about fifteen km from the border, the authorities were on the alert, stopping vehicles to check that they were not transporting migrants, AFP noted on Wednesday.
Several residents of this city have expressed their concern and expressed their support for the firmness of their authorities.
“I am afraid that migrants will manage to pass, and the consequences that this could have,” said Henryk Lenkiewicz, a 67-year-old retiree.
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