Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz talked with Antonio Vitorino, Director General of International Organization for Migration, Gillian Triggs, UNHRC Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees and Dominik Stillhart, Director of Operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The talks covered workable solutions to the crisis at the EU-Belarusian border, which had been created by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Also discussed was the launching of joint awareness-raising campaigns for the societies of North Africa and the Middle East about risks involved in deciding to illegally migrate to the EU through Belarus. The agenda included cooperation in sending irregular migrants, who are not entitled to international protection, back to their countries of origin, as well as possibilities to provide them with humanitarian aid.

The interlocutors condemned the policy of instrumantalisation of migrants to advance political goals. “Poland’s obligation is to protect its border and the EU’s border and we will fulfil it,” highlighted Deputy Minister Przydacz adding that “the key to overcome this border crisis, which currently has taken the form of a security threat to Poland, is the change of the aggressive policy pursued by the authorities in Minsk.” The deputy minister also declared Warsaw’s willingness to provide humanitarian aid to migrants staying on the Belarusian territory.

At the invitation of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the deputy head of Polish diplomacy delivered a keynote speech to the participants of the Chambésy Roundtable conference on international security.

 

MFA Press Office