Migrants are caught in the middle of a war of words between Poland and Belarus over border.
The Belarus-Poland border crisis is getting worse and has now taken a global dimension. Thousands of migrants are stranded at the border and are caught in the middle of a real geopolitical chess game.
West blames Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for the migrant crisis at the border with Poland
Migrants in the Middle of War
The western world believes that the people in this dire situation are being used as pawns by an authoritarian leader.
Via the United Nations Security Council, western members have accused Belarus of using the crisis for political leverage.
The United States, United Kingdom, and France are behind the strong-worded statement that went after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko Thursday.
The three countries are permanent Council members. However, they were rebuked by Russia, another Council member that opted to stand with Belarus.
Russia stands with Belarus and blames Poland
Migrants in the Middle of War
The ultimate goal of the rise in tension might be to destabilize the European Union’s eastern border. Russia is trying to flip the script and has blamed Poland and Lithuania for mistreating the migrants.
The Russian position ensures that not much will be done at the UN level because each Council member has a veto right. Poland is rejecting the mistreatment charge.
Poland’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that Belarus is using migrants at the border as “propaganda” tools.
Polish officials revealed that out of 223 border crossing attempts Thursday, 18 people were able to apply for protection.
Thousands of migrants, mostly Kurds from the Middle East, are taking on severe weather conditions at the border in the hope of crossing to Europe. In the last few weeks, seven people have died because of hypothermia.
Polish border guards are pushing back and trying to block their entry. However, some do manage to slip through the cracks.
Warsaw has been accused of dropping migrants into Belarus. Human rights activists see this as a violation of international rules of asylum.
Lukashenko denies using migrants for revenge against European sanctions but issues natural gas threat
Migrants in the Middle of War
However, the European Union believes that Lukashenko is complicating things by encouraging migrants to cross into Poland. The man, who called himself “Europe’s last dictator,” is reportedly doing this as retaliation against the sanctions pushed by the EU against his country.
While he has denied seeking revenge, the controversial leader has issued a serious threat to Europe. Thursday, he has said that he will respond if the EU adopts a new set of sanctions.
According to reports, the Biden administration and its European allies are working together on new sanctions to punish the Lukashenko regime for violating human rights. Last year, the ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory after a discredited election.
Protesters took to the streets of Minsk to fight for democracy. The controversial head of state responded by pushing a crackdown against pro-freedom forces and giving more power to his friends.
If the crisis deepens, Europe might not like Belarus’s response. Lukashenko has threatened to halt natural gas supplies.
A Russian gas pipeline, that Europe relies on, goes through Belarus. Experts say that Russia would not support such a move because Putin is working on getting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany across the finish line. Europe has vowed not to be intimidated by the gas threat.
Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. He is Belarus’s first president.
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