On November 19, local time, the overall situation in the border areas of Belarus and Poland was relatively calm. Belarus continues to provide essential supplies to some 2,000 refugees who have been resettled. The Polish side said that the night before, some refugees tried to cross the border illegally.
While diplomatic and political tensions over the border refugee crisis continue, on the same day, Russian and Belarusian leaders spoke, Merkel and NATO secretary-general talked... There was a lot of communication about how to resolve the crisis.
Russian-Belarusian leaders: Belarus' collaboration with the EU is crucial
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke again on November 19. The two sides agreed that collaboration between Belarus and the EU is essential to resolving the refugee crisis.
According to the news released on the website of the Russian Kremlin on the same day, Lukashenko briefed Putin on the measures taken by Belarus to avoid the escalation of the refugee crisis and provide humanitarian assistance to refugees, and introduced the relevant situation of the recent phone call with German caretaker chancellor Angela Merkel.
Earlier, Belarusian President Lukashenko and Merkel had spoken on the phone several times. The two sides said that the refugee issue will be submitted to the Belarusian-EU level, and belarus and the EU will immediately negotiate to resolve the existing problems after the relevant officials have been identified.
According to the Belarusian News Agency, the Belarusian government provides refugees with 8 tons of food per day, as well as hygiene products and infant and toddler products, including milk, bread, meat, canned food, etc., and women and children will be given priority in food supply. The Belarusian side arranged for medical and fire personnel to be on duty 24 hours a day at the transportation logistics center where about 2,000 refugees were placed to deal with possible unexpected situations.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Eskov also said on the same day that the Leaders of Russia and Belarus expressed serious concern about the tough behavior of Polish border guards such as violent means against refugees.
Germany + NATO: The refugee issue became the main content of the talks
German Caretaker Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin on November 19 with nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. The issue of refugees on the border between Belarus and Poland became one of the main elements of the talks between the two sides.
Merkel said at a press conference ahead of the talks that she had always advocated that NATO maintain dialogue with Russia, but unfortunately the dialogue between the two sides is at an impasse.
Experts: Crisis resolution dawns on the EU's hypocrisy
Recently, thousands of refugees have tried to enter EU countries such as Poland and Lithuania from Belarus and eventually to Western Europe, most of them from the Middle East.
Countries such as Poland have tightened border controls, resulting in a large number of migrants stranded at the border.
Natalia Esmond, the press secretary of the President of Belarus, recently revealed that the vast majority of the stranded refugees refused to be repatriated, and they asked for humanitarian corridors to Western Europe.
The Polish Border Guard Agency said on November 19 that on the night of the 18th, some refugees tried to illegally cross the White-Polish border from two places, one of which gathered about 500 people.
Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an exclusive interview with Global News Broadcast that some refugees have returned to Iraq a few days ago, which is the result of comprehensive measures and multi-party dialogues taken by the European Union, Belarus, Russia and Iraq. "In this context, the crisis is likely to be resolved."
On November 18, 2021 local time, Iraqi authorities transported Iraqi citizens by plane from Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Zhang Hong also believes that the Polish side's use of chili pepper water, barbed wire, tear gas, etc. to treat refugees from Iraq and the Middle East is a serious discrepancy between words and deeds. "Not just Poland, but the entire EU's foreign policy, refugee policy, has a false aura."
Migrant camps on the border between Belarus and Poland on November 17, local time.
Source: Global News+