With a view to the conflict on the border between Poland and Belarus, Vladimir Putin gave Angela Merkel a tip. The Russian president denies that his country bears responsibility in the crisis.
The Russian head of state Wladimir Putin has become a dispute between the EU and Belarus voiced about thousands of migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border. The migrants in Belarus mainly wanted to move on to Germany, he said in an interview that was broadcast on Russian state television on Saturday. In order to resolve the crisis, the European heads of state and government would have to meet the Belarusian rulers Alexander Lukashenko speak.
Putin also called the Chancellor Angela Merkel again for direct talks with Lukashenko. He hoped that such an exchange would take place, he explained and went on to say: “From conversations with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko and Chancellor (Angela) Merkel, I understood that they are ready to talk to each other”.
Merkel asked Putin for help
Because of the crisis surrounding migrants stranded at the EU’s external border, Merkel and Putin had already spoken to each other on the phone several times. The Chancellor asked the Kremlin chief to intervene in the conflict. The Kremlin later announced that Moscow would seek a solution.
In an interview, the Russian President emphasized again and again that Russia had nothing to do with the crisis on the Belarusian border. “I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it,” he said, pointing out that no Russian airline was involved in “transporting these people.” He thereby denied allegations Poland back, the main mastermind behind the crisis is in Moscow.
Putin accuses Poland of “inhumane behavior”
At the same time he accused the Polish border guards of “inhumane behavior”. Now it comes to the fact that “Polish border guards and representatives of the armed forces beat these potential migrants, shoot weapons in the air above their heads, turn on sirens and lights at night at the places where children and women are in the last months of their pregnancy”.
The Polish military published this photo, which shows Polish soldiers and police officers on the Polish-Belarusian border: Last night, around a hundred migrants tried to storm the border. (Source: Irek Dorozanski / Reuters)
Stopping gas would strain relations between Russia and Belarus
Looking at threats from Minsk, Russia’s head of state said he hoped Lukashenko would not stop gas transit in the conflict with the West. He spoke to Lukashenko twice. “He didn’t even mention it. But he can do that. But it doesn’t do any good, and of course I’ll talk to him about the matter.” A few days ago, Lukashenko threatened to stop gas transit through the Yamal-Europe pipeline.
“I hope that doesn’t happen,” said Putin, making it clear that stopping the transit would also violate the agreements between Russia and Belarus. Lukashenko added that such a move would damage the European energy sector on a large scale.
15,000 Polish soldiers in the border area
Meanwhile, thousands of migrants are still stuck at the border in freezing temperatures. Poland has stationed 15,000 soldiers in the area and erected a fence made of barbed wire because of the crowds. Nevertheless, migrants manage to get to the Polish side again and again.
Last night about a hundred people tried again to break the border at Wolka Terechowska, said the Polish police. The group was provided with tear gas by the Belarusian side and used it against Polish security forces, said Poland’s border guards on Twitter.
Belarusian soldiers had also damaged the temporary border fence and blinded Polish officials with lasers and stroboscopic beams. At the sight of the police and soldiers, however, the people on the Belarusian side fled into the forest. The information cannot be independently verified as Poland has declared a state of emergency in the border region. Journalists and helpers are not allowed in.
Vladimir Putin during a video meeting (archive picture): The Russian President wants talks between Germany and Belarus. (Source: Mikhail Metzel / imago images)
20-year-old Syrian found dead
The police have found another body in Poland’s border area with Belarus. The dead man is a 20-year-old man Syriaa spokesman for the police in Podlaskie Voivodeship told the PAP news agency on Saturday.
Accordingly, the body was discovered by a forest worker in a forest near the village of Wolka Terechowska. The dead man had a Syrian passport with him. A forensic medical examination should provide information about the cause of death.
Several dead at the border
According to a report in the Polish newspaper “Gazeta Wyborcza”, ten people have already died in the border area. At temperatures around freezing point, the migrants hold out in makeshift camps in the forest. Belarusian authorities announced on Saturday that the number of migrants arriving at makeshift improvised camps was growing every day. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski estimated that there were around 1,500 people.
The President of the German Red Cross, Gerda Hasselfeldt, therefore called for humanitarian aid. “The situation in the immediate border area between Poland and Belarus, in the so-called no man’s land, is dramatic,” she told the editorial network Germany. 3,000 to 4,000 migrants are believed to be in the area. You don’t know exactly because there is no direct access. “These people must have access to humanitarian aid regardless of their legal status,” demanded Hasselfeldt.
The dispute over migrants in the border area has escalated steadily in recent weeks. The EU accuses the Belarusian government of a “hybrid attack”. Accordingly, these visas are issued in the Middle East, the migrants are transported to Minsk and encouraged to illegally cross the border. This should put the EU under pressure. Lukashenko continues to reject these allegations.