Amid European moves to reduce escalation, Belarusian Defense Minister to Al Jazeera: It is not in our interest to create a refugee crisis

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrinin told Al Jazeera that the West is accusing his country of creating the refugee crisis, even though it is not in its political or economic interest, at a time when European countries are intensifying their contacts to reduce escalation and contain the crisis.

He added that the refugee crisis is fabricated, especially by Poland, which is exploiting it for political and financial interests, as he put it.

He continued by saying that Poland is trying to provoke Belarus against the background of the refugee crisis and drag it into a serious conflict, calling on Poland to engage in dialogue on the refugee crisis at the borders, noting that he does not see any desire to do so.

The Belarusian Defense Minister explained to Al Jazeera that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has doubled the deployment of its forces on his country's borders in recent years, which raises its concern.

He considered that the American actions in the Black Sea aim to raise the degree of tension around Russia and Belarus, as he put it.

The Belarusian authorities, in cooperation with the Red Cross, continue to provide humanitarian aid to asylum seekers at the Belarus-Polish border.

The authorities also announced that they distributed more than 7 tons of aid to asylum seekers in two days.

Russian-French connection

On the other hand, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday held a telephone conversation about the migrant crisis at the Belarus-Poland borders.

And the official Belarus news agency "Yelta" reported that this phone call, the first between Lukashenko and a European leader since his regime's crackdown on the protest movement last year, lasted 50 minutes.

The agency did not give other details.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to "de-escalate" the migrant crisis at the border between Belarus and Poland, after a call that lasted one hour and 45 minutes, the Elysee Palace announced on Monday.

"We hope that this prolonged call in the coming days will lead to results," a statement from the French presidency said, noting that Putin announced that he would "discuss" the issue with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.