Russia Has Nothing to Do with Belarus-Poland Border Crisis: Putin
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired Saturday that Moscow had nothing to do with the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border.
"I want everyone to know. We have nothing to do with it," he said in an interview with state broadcaster Vesti, after Poland and other Western critics accused Moscow of working with Minsk to orchestrate the sending of thousands of migrants to the European Union border, AFP reported.
Putin said European leaders needed to talk to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko if they want to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, trapped on the border.
"As I understand it, Alexander Lukashenko and (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel are ready to talk to each other," Putin said.
"I hope this will happen in the near future - this is most important."
He again blamed the West for the crisis, saying its policies in the Middle East were the reasons migrants wanted to go to Europe in the first place.
"We should not forget where these crises associated with migrants came from. What, is Belarus the cause of these problems or something?" Putin said.
"No, these reasons were created by Western countries themselves, including European countries. They are political, military and economic in nature."
Meanwhile, he body of a young Syrian man has been found in a forest close to the border between Poland and Belarus, Polish police said on Saturday.
The death brings to 11 the number of migrants found dead on both sides since the crisis began in the summer, according to aid groups.
"The body of a young Syrian man was discovered yesterday in the forest near Wolka Terechowska," police for the Podlasie region said in a statement.
"The cause of the death could not be determined at the scene," it said.
Police also said that a group of around 100 migrants had attempted to cross the border during the night in the same area.
"After seeing police and soldiers, the people on the Belarusian side fled into the forest," it said.
Thousands of migrants - most of them from the Middle East - have crossed or attempted to cross the EU and NATO border since the summer.