The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and present to the diplomats the current situation at the Polish-Belarusian border in the context of the ongoing migration crisis.

Deputy Minister Jabłoński outlined the background to the crisis, pointing to the involvement of the Belarusian regime in attracting, among others, citizens of Middle Eastern countries to Belarus under the pretext of paid crossing of the Polish and, at the same time, the EU border. In practice, migrants are only cursorily instructed on how to force the Polish border and its security features, and forced by Belarusian security services into illegal border crossings, which puts their lives and health in jeopardy.

The deputy head of Polish diplomacy noted that this practice is but one part of a hybrid war waged by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, aided by elements of the so-called Wagner’s Group. These actions are aimed directly at Poland and the European Union, and the intention of the organisers of this artificially created migration route is to destabilise both Poland and the entire EU.

Ambassadors and chargés d’affaires of embassies of  Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen were assured by Deputy Minister Jabłoński that the Polish Border Guard acts in line with all relevant procedures and regulations, both Polish and European. He added that the key aspect of its work is to treat people who crossed the Polish and the EU border illegally with dignity. Later, he stressed that the Polish border is at the same time the EU border, which is why the Polish Border Guard bears the immense responsibility to ensure it security. 

The undersecretary of state at the Polish MFA also requested the diplomats at the meeting to inform the Polish side on discovered attempts in their countries to facilitate coordinated illegal migration via Belarus and Russia to the European Union.

 

MFA Press Office