UNITED NATIONS, November 12. /TASS/. The United States, the United Kingdom and European Union states members of the UN Security Council are ready to discuss imposing sanctions on the Belarusian government and on those whom they blame for fuelling the migrant crisis on the border with Poland.
"Together, we express our solidarity with Poland and Lithuania and stand ready to discuss further measures that we can take to support them and target those involved in and contributing to activities by the Lukashenko regime that facilitate the illegal crossing of the external borders of the European Union," the countries said in a joint statement, published after closed UN Security Council consultations on the issue.
The countries vowed to remain united and determined in protecting the EU "against these hybrid operations by Belarusian authorities."
They also urged the countries of migrants’ origin and transit to warn their nationals "against falling into the trap set by the Belarusian·authorities."
Western countries also called upon Minsk to ensure due protection and help for the migrants.
"We stress that all actions must be guided by fundamental values, especially regarding the protection of migrants’ human rights," the joint statement says.
Threat to security
The United States, the United Kingdom and EU states members of the UN Security Council believe that the government of Belarus poses a threat to regional security and call for measures against it. Their joint statement says Minsk’s ‘tactic’ as "unacceptable," adding that it "calls for a strong international reaction and cooperation in order to hold Belarus accountable."
"It demonstrates how the Lukashenko regime has become a threat to regional stability," the document says.
The countries claim that Minsk’s goal is "destabilizing neighbouring countries and the European Union’s external border and diverting attention away from its own increasing human rights violations."
The migrant crisis on the Belarusian border with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland where the migrants have been flocking since the beginning of the year, sharply aggravated on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border from Belarus and refused to leave the area. Some of them attempted to enter Poland by destroying a barbed-wire fence. EU countries have accused Minsk of the intentional escalation of the crisis and have called for sanctions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that the Western countries themselves were to blame for the situation since people were fleeing the war in their homelands because of the West’s actions.