MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Moscow will not try to influence the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border because it has nothing to do with Russia, President Vladimir Putin said following talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.
"My Western and the leaders of some European countries are calling on me for joint action, saying that a crisis has emerged on the Belarusian-Lithuanian and the Belarusian-Polish border, they are asking me to somehow influence it all. The answer is simple: we have nothing to do with it, it’s not our border, it is the border of Belarus, the border of Lithuania and Poland," Putin pointed out.
According to him, "everyone is holding direct talks with the Taliban movement [outlawed in Russia] that is designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. However, they say that since the Taliban control the country, there is a need to talk with them. On the other hand, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko came to power not through fighting but through elections, and it’s another question that someone doesn’t like the elections’ results," Putin noted. "My answer is the following: talk with the Belarusian authorities, why are you talking to us? Russia has nothing to do with it," he added.
"Many are asking us to help evacuate third country nationals and even some Afghan citizens from Afghanistan. We are working on that, we aren’t doing it secretly, we are in talks with Taliban leaders regarding certain categories of people," Putin went on to say. According to him, European countries view the situation in Afghanistan as a catastrophe but when Afghan refugees arrive on Belarus’ border with Lithuania and Poland, they see attempts to turn all refugees away, including Afghans. "This logic is incomprehensible," Putin stressed.