Live Updates: Refugee Crisis at Border With Belarus Novel Type of War, Polish Prime Minister Says

Groups of at least several dozen people broke through the fence in the area of Krynki and Bialowieza, Polish Radio Bialystok reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union might impose new sanctions on Belarus next week targeting about 30 individuals and entities including Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and the country's airlines Belavia, the media reported on Tuesday, citing diplomatic sources.

New sanctions can be imposed as a response to the arrival of migrants to the Polish-Belarusian border, which was allegedly organized by the Belarusian authorities, according to Reuters.

He added that he had discussed this issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Russia on Tuesday of pulling the strings behind what Warsaw sees as a Belarusian operation to smuggle migrants into his country.

The Belarusian border agency said on Monday that thousands of mostly Middle Eastern and African migrants had amassed near the Polish border and were trying to force their way across. The Polish parliament called an emergency meeting.

"Russia is carrying on with its neocolonial policy… This is evidenced by the latest attack of [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko, who is the perpetrator. But his sponsor is in Moscow," Morawiecki said in parliament.

The European Union accuses Belarus of pushing migrants across its eastern frontier to get back at Brussels for sanctions, a claim repeatedly denied by Lukashenko, who argues that his government lacks funding. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman denied that Moscow was involved.

The West, accusing Moscow of involvement in the migration crisis around the EU countries and Belarus, launched a media campaign to evade responsibility, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"I thought it was just the untidiness of the media, which over the past weeks launched this story into life, that Moscow was allegedly behind all this. Then I realized that we were again dealing with some kind of media campaign. Today these guesses and suspicions were confirmed," Zakharova told the Spas broadcaster.

She added that these accusations represented an attempt to get away from reality and an unwillingness to see what the essence of the problem was, and an attempt to find the culprit.

The Belarusian Defence Ministry said that accusations of the involvement of Belarusian servicemen in the crisis on the border of the two countries were unfounded.

"On November 8, 2021, at 17:00 Minsk time, on the initiative of the Polish side in the city of Warsaw, a meeting was held between the defense attache at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Poland, Col. Alexey Bortnik, with representatives of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Poland on the issue of alleged 'breach of the Polish border Belarusian servicemen and their involvement in the migration crisis.' At the same time, no evidence, recorded by means of objective control, was presented," the statement says.

It is noted that in this context, the Belarusian military representative noted the following: "The Belarusian Defense Ministry has always been committed to the principles of good neighborliness and the importance of maintaining a bilateral dialogue to resolve any conflict and disputable situations. According to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, the deployment of 10,000 Polish military personnel at the Polish-Belarusian border (as announced by the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland on October 25, 2021) is a significant military activity."

Also, the Belarusian military attache noted that the implementation of this activity without notifying the Belarusian side was a violation of bilateral additional agreements on regional confidence and security measures. These agreements provide for the notification and invitation of observers of military activities, in which 6,000 or more military personnel take part.

"Until now, Minsk has not received any notification or invitation of observers from the Polish side. In confirmation of its good intentions, the Polish side was offered to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss the concerns raised on both sides. However, we have not received a response so far," the defense ministry said.

The ministry noted that "taking into account the above, the Belarusian Defense Ministry considers the accusations of the Polish side unfounded and unsubstantiated, and also that the Polish Defense Ministry is not aimed at a constructive resolution of the issue and deliberately brings the current conflict situation to the political level."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described on Tuesday the refugee crisis at the border with Belarus as a novel type of warfare and a part of a "coordinated attack."

"We are convinced that the operations that are currently taking place at Poland's eastern border are part of a large operation, a very coordinated attack, which is a new type of war," Morawiecki told the country's lower house.

In recent months, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have reported an increase in the number of people trying to illegally cross the border from Belarus, accusing Minsk of using migrants as a "hybrid weapon" against the bloc after it imposed sanctions on the country. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country would not prevent the movement of migrants toward the EU anymore as it has no money nor resources to do so due to the sanctions.

As of Tuesday, close to 2,000 refugees have been stranded at the Belarusian border with Poland. The refugees set up a camp to keep warm.

Prague and Warsaw have also called for new sanctions on Minsk following the escalation of the migrant crisis on the border.

According to Sputnik Lithuania, 122 lawmakers backed the decision, one opposed, and there were no abstentions.

The state of emergency will take effect on November 10 and will last for one month. It will be in effect along the border of Lithuania with Belarus, and will also apply to the settlements of foreigners.

The Polish Sejm, the lower house of the parliament, started an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday over the situation at the border with Belarus.

As of Tuesday, over 2,000 refugees and migrants are stranded at the Belarusian border with Poland.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Belarus was not going to attack Poland, and explained the situation with Middle Eastern migrants at the border by the EU's desire to divert attention from its own problems.

"Inside Poland, Lithuania, Germany there is the so-called transit of power today. Take the UK, France, they have problems over the top. We did not stand next to them. The peoples are dissatisfied. But how to mix and level this? You should then label someone an idiot, a bastard, a scoundrel who will attack Poland tomorrow. Yes, we never intended and are not going to attack Poland," Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko said that the confrontation on the Belarusian-Polish border over Middle Eastern migrants could lead to an acute phase, in his words, "this is a ground for provocations."

"I already warn my military: carefully, guys, watch out," the president noted.

Moscow hopes that the West will not avoid responsibility for the situation on the border between Poland and Belarus, Zakharova said.

"We very much hope that the West, the very collective one, will not relieve itself of this responsibility," she said

The moment of responsibility has come for the idea, promoted by the West for many years, that "life by high standards is only there, in the West," she said

The West, in the situation with refugees on the border of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, demonstrates the violation of the values ​​that it has been talking about for so many years, Zakharova added.

The Defence Ministry of Belarus has summoned Poland's defence attache over "unfounded" accusations about the alleged involvement of Belarusian military in the migration crisis on the border, the ministry said on social media.

Duda also said Belarus is not allowing migrants to leave the border area amid the tense situation over the influx of migrants.

"These groups of migrants, a huge group with several thousand people, were de facto taken to the border by Belarusian servicemen, military men. These are servicemen of various Belarusian units. They come all the time behind the groups of these migrants, in an obvious way preventing them from leaving the border zone ... from the Belarusian side," Duda told a press conference.

Poland wants Belarus to allow the passage of its humanitarian aid for migrants, he said.

"We are trying to ensure that our humanitarian aid reaches those who are in Belarus, these migrants. We sent several more humanitarian convoys to border crossings with Belarus, none of these convoys was allowed by the Belarusian regime ... We are ready to deliver them at any moment, if there is such an agreement with the Belarusian regime, now there is no agreement," the president said.

Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Linhart on Tuesday did not rule out the European Union sanctions against Belarusian officials involved in the situation with migrants at the Belarusian-Polish border.

"We, as the EU, must rally and defend ourselves resolutely. This will also include targeted measures against those responsible in Minsk," the minister said, as quoted by the Austrian APA news agency.

The Belarusian President also said that Minsk calmly responds to the situation on the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, discussed the situation with refugees at the borders of Belarus with Poland and Lithuania during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.

"The presidents exchanged views on the situation with refugees at the Belarusian-Polish and Belarusian-Lithuanian borders," the Kremlin said in a statement.

In addition, Putin and Lukashenko "reaffirmed their commitment" to mutually beneficial integration processes.

In recent months, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania have reported an increase in the number of people trying to illegally cross the border from Belarus, accusing Minsk of using migrants as a "hybrid weapon" against the bloc after it imposed sanctions on the country. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country would not prevent the movement of migrants toward the EU any more as it had no money nor resources to do so due to the sanctions.

The European Union is ready to deploy a civil protection mechanism to the border between Poland and Belarus if Warsaw requests this to enable the deliveries of humanitarian support for migrants, European Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Polish President Andrzej Duda accused Minsk of blocking Polish deliveries of humanitarian assistance.

"In order to prevent a humanitarian crisis from developing, we have the possibility to provide support through the civil protection mechanism, as the mechanism can be triggered and support can be delivered very rapidly once the member state requests it," Spinant said at a briefing.

The European Union will evaluate flight data from Russia to Belarus in regard to the movement of migrants amid the tense situation at the Belarusian-Polish border, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said on Tuesday.

"Russia is among ten countries that we are observing in this regard it is on our radar ... and we are going to evaluate the info and data that we have available on the situation on flights from Russia and the possible connection of Russia on this affair in general," Stano said at a briefing.

Belarus has been inviting the European Union to hold consultations on migration and borders since April, but the bloc has always been rejecting the proposals, although cooperation is necessary, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Anatoly Glaz, said on Tuesday.

"There is a strong impression that our partners either forget or deliberately keep silent about objective facts. It was the EU and its member states that decided to unilaterally suspend the dialogue with Belarus and freeze contacts. In the meantime, Belarus not only declares its readiness for dialogue on practical issues but also proactively offers the European Commission border consultations since April, acting as a responsible partner and member of the international community," Glaz said, commenting on the calls for new sanctions on Minsk amid the migration crisis.

The spokesman emphasized that the EU reaction to these proposals "was always negative."

"I believe that responsibility of Western countries and the EU for provoking the global migration crisis is so obvious that it makes no sense to pay attention to it again. In such conditions, it is absolutely ridiculous to try to 'put up a good front'. One just needs to admit the obvious and work together to solve problems," Glaz continued.

The European Union will propose suspending flights to Minsk and repatriating migrants who gathered at the border to the countries of their origin, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said on Tuesday.

"Suspending flights is one option of how affected countries can cooperate and other measures can be in repatriating immigrants from Belarus, and this is the main message in our reach to these countries," Stano said at a briefing.

Top Vatican diplomat Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher called on the European authorities on Tuesday to take responsibility for migrants and refugees in connection with the crisis on Belarus' border with Poland and Lithuania.

"The immediate crisis is taking place on the borders between Belarus and Poland", Gallagher said at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The Holy See encourages authorities throughout the whole of Europe to assume the responsibility with regard to migrants and to refugees ... We would encourage all those in this project to assume responsibilities and to address what is obviously a very serious humanitarian crisis," the archbishop added.

A video was shared by the Belarusian Border Committee.

Polish President Andrzej Duda accused Minsk on Tuesday of blocking Polish deliveries of humanitarian assistance to the migrants stationed at the border.

"From the very beginning, we were ready, we sent convoys with humanitarian assistance to the Belarusian border so that this assistance could reach Belarus and these people. The Belarusian regime blocked the border and prohibited the entry of this assistance. The cargo remains close to the Polish-Belarusian border, we are ready to deliver it to Belarus at any moment but the Belarusian regime does not want it," Duda said after a meeting in Warsaw.

He also suggested that the EU should help Belarus with migrants like the union once helped Turkey.

Polish forces have deployed military equipment in front of a camp of Kurdish refugees at the Polish-Belarusian border and they psychologically pressure them, the Belarusian border committee said on Tuesday.

"At the moment, a group of Polish security forces has lined up in front of the refugee camp, equipment, including military equipment, has been pulled together," the committee wrote on its Telegram channel.

The committee mentioned that the health of some migrants has deteriorated after the use of tear gas by Polish forces.

"To exert psychological pressure on the refugees, the Polish military turned on loudspeakers, searchlights, strobe lights for the whole night. Shots were also heard from the adjacent territory," the committee added.

The closure of the Kuznica checkpoint by Poland may be caused by Warsaw’s desire to conceal the use of force against refugees, according to Minsk.

"In the absence of objective reasons for the closure of the Polish checkpoint ‘Kuznica’, it is possible that this decision was made by the Polish side to exclude video recording by casual witnesses and not to make the facts of the use of force and weapons by the Polish military against refugees public," the committee said.

The Kremlin is concerned over the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border and hopes that it will not escalate and threaten Russia’s security, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"We see that Belarusian specialists are working responsibly. We hope that in no way this will take a form that will pose a threat to our security," Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow and Minsk are in regular contact.

The Kremlin spokesman also said that the most important is the life and health of people when commenting on the attempt of migrants to cross the Belarusian-Polish border.

"The situation is undoubtedly tense, alarming - this requires responsible behaviour of all parties involved," Peskov added.