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Security forces at the Belarusian-Polish border: Embroiled in very worrying activity
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STRINGER / EPA
The escalating situation of migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border is increasingly causing the USA to take action.
US President Joe Biden expressed concern about the situation: “We think this is very worrying.
We have shared our concerns with Russia and Belarus, ”Biden said.
He came just hours after Vice President Kamala Harris raised similar concerns on a visit to France and discussed the matter with President Emmanuel Macron.
Belarus is involved in very worrying activities and the eyes of the world and leaders are watching what is happening there, Harris said at a press conference.
"Orchestrated instrumentalization of people"
On the border between Belarus and the EU states Poland and Lithuania, thousands of migrants are currently waiting in freezing temperatures. They come mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan. The states refuse to let them pass. According to the Polish authorities, larger groups had recently tried in vain to break through the border fortifications. What it actually looks like on site is difficult to assess, as access to the press is denied in many places.
The European Union accuses the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of targeting migrants to the borders of the EU states Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in retaliation for sanctions. There is talk of a "hybrid attack" by the government in Minsk.
The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of being behind a correspondingly extortionate migration policy.
There is no evidence for this, but the government in Moscow rhetorically supports Lukashenko.
Belarus denies that it fueled the crisis but has stated that it cannot help resolve the matter until Europe lifts the sanctions.
The EU imposed several measures in response to the violent crackdown on mass protests against Lukashenko's rule in 2020.
On the spot, however, Poland is trying to react hard to the arrival of the migrants.
Warsaw stationed 15,000 soldiers in the area because of the crowds and built a fence made of barbed wire.
Belarus and the allied Russia announced joint military maneuvers in the Belarusian region of Grodno near the Polish border on Friday, and two Russian paratroopers died during an exercise in Belarus.
Meanwhile, the USA and several European countries want to solve the conflict with the help of the international community.
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, they accused the Belarusian government of "orchestrating the instrumentalization of people" and destabilizing the EU's external borders.
apr / Reuters / AFP