WARSAW, August 19. /TASS/. The tense migration situation on the Polish-Belarusian border has been created by the Belarusian authorities, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told the TVN24 TV channel on Thursday.
"The migration situation on Poland’s borders is in fact [Belarusian President] Alexander Lukashenko’s political operation," he said. "It’s unacceptable to use these people as a human shield and a tool of political pressure on Poland. These migrants were sent by Alexander Lukashenko who is trying to provoke a crisis," Przydacz added.
"Our deputy interior ministry has held a conversation on the matter with his counterpart in Minsk, clarifying our view of the situation. We consider this to be a provocation on the part of Belarusian agencies and expect them to change their policy," the Polish deputy foreign minister said.
Poland and Lithuania earlier called on the European Union to take tougher measures against Belarus in connection with the migration crisis in the region that Minsk allegedly created.
Over 4,000 illegal migrants have been detained on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border since the beginning of the year, 50 times more than in 2020. Migrants are also trying to enter Poland from Belarus. According to the Polish Interior Ministry, 2,100 illegal attempts to enter the country have been recorded on the border with Belarus since early August. As many as 758 foreign nationals have been detained. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in late May that the country had served as a barrier preventing illegal migrants from entering neighboring countries but given the West’s political pressure on Minsk, Belarus would have to think if it was reasonable to continue like that.