(Bloomberg) -- Poland used water cannon and tear gas to stop Belarus-backed migrants from crossing the European Union’s eastern frontier a day after the bloc approved new tools to punish those escalating the crisis.
Under the threat of new sanctions and facing accusations of mounting a “hybrid attack” on the EU by ushering Middle Eastern travelers to the border, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko floated a detente.
He spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about how to de-escalate the standoff. He told Merkel he had a proposal to resolve the problem of the several thousand refugees now camped out on the border, he declined to provide details, saying Merkel agreed to consider the idea.
“We agreed that no one needs escalation, not the European Union and not Belarus,” Lukashenko said of his phone conversation Monday with Merkel, according to the Belarusian Belta news service.
With nighttime temperatures dropping below freezing, about 2,000 people remain huddled in the forests near the Polish frontier, including hundreds at the shut Kuznica border crossing where water cannons were used.
The migrants -- many from the Middle East who bought travel packages in the hope that traveling to Belarus would give them a way to cross into the wealthier EU -- are increasingly frustrated by their inability to enter the bloc or move back into Belarus, according to Polish authorities. Poland has shared footage of Belarusian security forces ferrying migrants to the border and helping them cut through Polish fences.
In Tuesday’s clashes, a Polish policeman was hospitalized after being hit in the head with a projectile thrown from Belarus.
“Belarusian forces are no longer hiding the fact that they’re trying to destroy Polish border infrastructure,” Anna Michalska, a spokeswoman for the Polish border guards, told reporters.
Financial markets are also starting to notice, with the zloty weakening as much as 0.6% against the euro on Tuesday.
“Geopolitical risk associated with developments in Belarus” as well as fellow neighbor Ukraine are weighing on sentiment for the Polish currency, according to InTouch Capital Markets Ltd. analyst Piotr Matys.
Macron Call
Western leaders accused Lukashenko of bringing the migrants to the border to put pressure on the EU, which has steadily stepped up pressure on his authoritarian regime since a brutal crackdown on opponents began after elections last year.
French President Emmanuel Macron Monday asked Putin in a call to use his influence over Belarus, Russia’s closest ally. The two also discussed Lukashenko’s threat last week to block Russian gas supplies to Europe, one that drew quick disavowals from Moscow.
At the same time, the Kremlin said the Russian leader underlined the importance of direct dialog between the EU and Belarus to resolve the situation and accused Polish forces of using excessive force to keep the refugees from crossing the border.
“We have a hybrid war but a shooting war is hardly on the horizon,” Polish ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski on public radio on Tuesday. “I don’t believe that Lukashenko would dare to do anything more at the moment.”
EU officials said Monday that the flow of people from Iraq, Syria and other countries was already slowing after airlines in the region stopped accepting them for flights to Belarus.
On Monday, the bloc approved new sanctions powers that allow it to target individuals and entities, such as airlines and travel agencies, that are involved in trying to facilitate illegal crossing of migrants into the EU.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that the specific targets of the new sanctions package will be finalized in the coming days.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR