French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a “dictator” and accused him of “taking hostages” against the background of the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border.
Le Drian noted that he did not comment on statements about any ties between Russia and the situation on the border of Belarus. At the same time, he stressed that both countries have “close relations.”
“Thus, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin should be able to appeal to Lukashenko to stop the vile and criminal initiative. This is a hostage-taking. Lukashenko is used to it. It was he who arranged the hijackings of the plane, suppressed the population, stole the elections. This is a dictator”, – said Le Drian in an interview with the French newspaper Monde.
According to the French minister, “instrumentalization of migrants by the dictator” is taking place on the border of Belarus and Poland. “This problem should be treated as an organized and cynical provocation,” he said.
In light of this, the French Foreign Minister called for “firmness” and solidarity with European countries that have become “victims of manipulation”.
“The situation requires new sanctions against Minsk,” Le Drian added.
Several thousand migrants have accumulated on the border of Belarus and Poland in the past few weeks, hoping to get to the EU countries. The Polish authorities have strengthened border security, pulled in the military and thwarted attempts by illegal immigrants to enter the country, blaming Minsk for the migration crisis. All these accusations are denied by Belarus, claiming that Poland is forcibly expelling migrants.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko noted that Minsk will no longer restrain the flow of illegal migrants to the EU countries: because of the West’s sanctions, there is “neither money nor energy for this.” The border guards of Belarus have repeatedly stated about the forcible expulsion of migrants by Lithuania, Poland and Latvia to the Belarusian territory.
Russia acts as a negotiating mediator in resolving the migration crisis. The Kremlin considers it very important to establish direct contacts between the Belarusian authorities and the EU. Putin discussed the situation with Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Russian leader also expressed hope for direct contacts between Lukashenko and Merkel.
On Tuesday, Putin and Lukashenko discussed the migration crisis, taking into account the previous conversation between the Belarusian leader and Merkel.