Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his Russian counterpart and main ally Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone about tensions on the border between Belarus and Poland, Moscow and Minsk said on Tuesday (November 9th).
The two presidents had "
an exchange of views on the refugee situation
," the Kremlin said in a statement, without further details.
Read also Poland barricades its border with Belarus
The Belarusian President's press service for its part indicated that "a
special place in the conversation had been given to the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, as well as the harsh actions of the Polish side towards civilians
".
Minsk added that "
the deployment of regular Polish troops at the border is particularly worrying
" and that the two men, in power for two decades, had addressed the situation "
in detail
".
Hundreds of migrants crowd the border in the cold this week, a situation Warsaw accuses Minsk of orchestrating.
Migrants blocked by barbed wire
Brussels accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the arrival of this wave of migrants and refugees in response to European sanctions decided upon after the brutal repression suffered by the opposition. Minsk rejects these accusations and accuses Warsaw of failing in its humanitarian obligations. Earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was "
watching very carefully
" the situation on the European Union's eastern border. “
This is a real problem which concerns Belarus and Poland. We are, of course, very worried,
”he added.
For weeks, Poland has indicated that increasing numbers of people, mostly from the Middle East, are trying to enter its territory from Belarus.
Tensions peaked on Monday with the arrival of hundreds of migrants at the border, where they were blocked by rows of Polish border guards and a barbed wire device.
Vladimir Putin is the main supporter of Alexander Lukashenko, increasingly isolated internationally after a brutal crackdown on the opposition in his country in 2020.