Poland warned the Belarusian authorities about the possibility of fully suspending all traffic across the border, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller told the Wirtualna Polska online news outlet.
Some 2,000 refugees have been stranded at the Belarusian border with Poland since Monday. Minsk said that these are refugees from the Middle east and Africa. As part of measures to prevent refugees from crossing over, the Polish authorities have deployed security forces to the border, adding to tensions.
“Further scenarios take into account a full closure of the border with Belarus. We keep sending information to the Belarusian authorities about what may happen if they do not stop their actions,” Muller said.
Among other things, Warsaw fears that the Belarusian intelligence services will provide some of these undocumented migrants with weapons, which can eventually be used, prompting a crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border, the official said.
“Then, of course, the Belarusian authorities will say that they have nothing absolutely nothing to do with this,” Muller added.
Tensions have been mounting at the Polish-Belarusian border in recent months, with numerous migrants and refugees trying to illegally cross into the EU. Brussels has repeatedly accused Minsk of using refugees for political purposes, as Belarusian authorities are believed to be providing undocumented migrants with visas on arrival and transporting them to EU borders to get back at the European Union for sanctions against Belarusian officials.
Minsk has rejected the allegations, saying it can no longer suppress migration to neighbouring countries due to the lack of resources caused by Western sanctions against the country. (ANI/Sputnik)
