The West is sabre-rattling and threatening Minsk with sanctions because of the migration crisis. But it should stop shifting responsibility and help the refugees. The migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border was caused by the years-long policy of the EU and the US concerning the Middle East. We cannot hear condemnation of such radical actions. What is it, if not double standards?
Summary
Warsaw does not respond to the readiness of Minsk to talk about the conflict on the Polish-Belarusian border. Unfortunately, this conflict is used for the purposes of Polish domestic politics. The conflict will continue taking place until Poland starts real contacts on the diplomatic level and ask for mediation of external parties, such as Germany, France and the European Commissioners.
Disproof
Recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the migration situation on the EU-Belarus borders.
The claim that Poland does not want to solve the migration crisis on the border with Belarus through diplomatic tools is ungrounded. The Polish Government stays in contact with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as she is perceived as a legitimate representative of the Belarusian society (unlike Alexander Lukashenka, who has lost all the political legitimacy).
The developments on the border, bringing irregular migrants and force them to try to enter EU en masse, were caused by Belarus as a response to EU sanctions imposed on Minsk for its oppressive measures against the political opposition. There is plenty of evidence that the Belarusian authorities have instigated the ongoing irregular migration flows to the EU borders via Belarus.
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that situation on the EU-Belarusian border is not a bilateral issue of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus but a hybrid attack against the whole EU. The vice-president of the European Commission and high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy (HRVP) Josep Borrell stressed that responsibility for the migration crisis falls on the Lukashenka regime.
See our earlier articles on the Belarus migration situation here and here.