Russia rejects EU criticism of migrant crisis on Poland-Belarus border

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“Inhuman and unacceptable” – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s words to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday, when she asked him to pressure Belarus to end “the instrumentalization of migrants” at the country’s border with Poland.

The call came as the Kremlin accused the European Union of failing to live up to its own humanitarian values.

He also said that Poland’s claim that the “brain” of the crisis was Russia was unacceptable. Poland said several attempts to cross its border were made on Tuesday evening.

EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday that Belarus’ apparent encouragement to Middle Eastern migrants to enter Poland can legally be seen as a “hybrid attack” which serves as the basis for a new round of sanctions against Minsk, diplomats said.

The deal was reached during a closed-door meeting in Brussels between the bloc’s 27 envoys. Belarus denies any wrongdoing and claims that it, not the EU, is the victim of a “hybrid attack” using unconventional war tactics.

Thousands of migrants camp in freezing conditions on the border between Poland and Belarus. At night, migrants use wood from the forests to create fires. Many come from Iraq and among them are women and children.

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Lithuania is also reporting an increase in the number of migrants at its border with Belarus and declared a month-long state of emergency in its border area, which began at midnight local time on Tuesday.

The Lithuanian authorities estimated Tuesday evening at 281 the number of crossing attempts, higher than usual. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte visited the border, where Lithuania has increased the number of its troops.

The state of emergency allows border guards to use “proportional physical force” and “mental coercion” to push back migrants. Lithuanian border guards will also be able to take migrants’ cell phones and disperse gatherings.

EU member states accuse Belarus of encouraging illegal migrants to cross the border to the EU in revenge for sanctions already imposed in Minsk for alleged human rights violations.

These included an asset freeze and travel bans for 166 people and 15 entities, a ban on the sale of internet surveillance-related equipment, and a ban for the Belarusian national airline from flying in the airspace of the United States. EU.

The sanctions followed contested elections in Belarus in 2020, which opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko said were rigged to allow him to win a sixth term. He has reigned since 1994.

The anti-government protests that followed were the largest the country had ever seen, and Lukashenko responded with a crackdown, leading to arrests and criticism who fled into exile.

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