"We have absolutely nothing to do with it": Putin rejected Russia's involvement in the migration crisis on the border of Belarus and the EU

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was not involved in the migration crisis that is unfolding on the border of Belarus and the EU countries.

“I want everyone to know that we have nothing to do with it.

Everyone is trying to impose any responsibility on us for any reason and for no reason at all.

Our aviation companies do not carry these people.

None of our companies carry.

By the way, "Belavia", as Alexander Grigorievich (Lukashenko. -

) told me, also does not carry ", - said Putin in an interview with the host of the program" Moscow.

Kremlin.

Putin ”to Pavel Zarubin.

In fact, as the Russian leader emphasized, the crisis was provoked by the Western countries themselves, conducting military operations and military campaigns in third countries.

“We must not forget where the crises associated with migrants came from ... These are the reasons that were created by the Western countries themselves, by the European countries.

They are of a political, economic and military nature.

Military, because everyone took part, say, in operations in Iraq ... and fought in Afghanistan for 20 years.

And economic (reasons. -

) - very high social benefits in Europe for migrants ... Of course, people are drawn there, ”the president stated.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that migrants enter the EU not only through Belarus, since the republic has "visa-free entry into the country from the countries of origin."

“The key link is in the EU countries.

Those who are there are being dragged there.

They organize all these chains.

Let the law enforcement agencies and special services work on them if they violate something, ”Vladimir Putin said.

At the same time, from his point of view, decisions regarding migrants should be made taking into account humanitarian issues, which a number of European states neglect.

“When, on the border between Belarus and Poland, Polish border guards and representatives of the armed forces beat potential migrants, shoot over their heads with military weapons, sirens turn on at night and light at their locations where children and women are in the last months of pregnancy, - well, how- it does not really fit in with the ideas of humanism, which supposedly underlie the entire policy of our western neighbors, ”said the Russian leader.

Earlier, the first deputy representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, spoke about the violation of international norms in relation to migrants by the same Poland.

In this regard, he noted that Russia has accumulated many questions to the EU countries about the crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border.

The diplomat also stressed that neither Moscow nor Minsk provide assistance to refugees in reaching the borders of the European Union.

"An outspoken double standard"

It should be noted that in Poland they are not abandoning their attempts to shift part of the responsibility for the current situation onto Russia.

Thus, the prime minister of the republic, Mateusz Morawiecki, stated that Minsk was supposedly acting at the behest of Moscow.

In turn, the representative of the EU foreign policy service Peter Stano emphasized that Brussels is "closely watching" Russia, studying its "role" in the unfolding crisis.

The Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany Horst Seehofer also spoke about Russia's "responsibility" for the influx of migrants.

Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultkvist adheres to a similar point of view. 

In this regard, the heads of the foreign policy and defense departments of France Jean-Yves Le Drian and Florence Parly called on Russia to "influence" the Belarusian authorities.

"They (Le Drian and Parley. -

) called on Russia to mobilize its close ties with Belarus in order to achieve an end (the migration crisis. -

)", - said in a statement following a meeting in Paris of French ministers with their Russian counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation called all such accusations absurd, noting that they prefer to keep silent about the true state of affairs in the EU.

"There are already accusations that we allegedly had a hand in this, which is generally absurd ... At the same time, we absolutely close our eyes to what is happening with regard to the migrants themselves," rule of law, deputy director of the departmental department for humanitarian cooperation and human rights Grigory Lukyantsev.

• Migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border

• Reuters

• © Ramil Nasibulin / BelTA

At the same time, he recalled how sharp and harsh the reaction and criticism of European countries can be when similar events take place in other states.

“Here, the actions of European countries bordering Belarus are either generally hushed up, or they say that all these are necessary measures.

This is a completely frank double standard in assessing the relevant situation, ”the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee, there are about 2 thousand refugees of different nationalities on the border with Poland.

At the same time, as noted by the deputy chairman of the department, Igor Butkevich, some of the migrants were able to break through to the territory of Poland, but were blocked there due to barbed wire.

And the Polish border guards, according to him, are trying to make provocations.

“I will say more - the Polish representatives who are there are provoking them to destroy the Belarusian fence and enter the territory of Belarus,” Butkevich told the SB.

Belarus today ”.

"The Crisis of Practical Diplomacy"

Experts note that attempts by Western countries to make Russia responsible for any problems have already become a tradition.

At the same time, analysts say, sometimes foreign politicians do not even need an appropriate pretext.

"As for the logic in the current attacks on Moscow, in the absence of a dialogue between the EU and Minsk, blaming Russia is a way to create the appearance of its activities, which makes it possible to bypass the fact of the need for direct negotiations with Minsk," Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Baltic Studies Association, explained to RT.  

At the same time, he noted, Brussels does not want to admit their mistakes, which led to the current situation with migrants.

“The entire European migration policy of the last decade is a continuous series of mistakes.

But this cannot be admitted.

Therefore, it is better to try to divert public attention to the actions of other countries.

But an appeal to the Russian Federation, which has nothing to do with the current crisis, speaks of a serious ideological crisis and a crisis of practical diplomacy in Brussels, which discredits itself with almost every statement, ”Mezhevich stressed.

In turn, the general director of the Center for the Study of Integration Prospects, Sergei Rekeda, believes that European politicians do not want to directly contact Minsk, as in this case they risk "losing face."

After all, many of them did not recognize the results of the last presidential elections in the republic.

“Therefore, legally and politically, they cannot build a dialogue in an image-like manner.

Therefore, Russia in this case for the EU acts as a kind of legitimate conductor.

And through Moscow, Brussels wants to gain influence on Minsk, ”the expert explained in a commentary on RT.

• Military Western Coalition Forces in Iraq in 2014

• © REUTERS / Azad Lashkari

Rekeda also recalled that it is precisely because of Western interventions in the Middle East that the EU is now facing a huge number of migrants seeking a better life.

“However, the EU does not recognize such a tough relationship between their actions in these countries and the flow of refugees, and therefore they continue to step on the same rake,” the analyst concluded.