Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Friday he hoped the "attack" on Poland's eastern border would end soon after Belarusian authorities removed migrants from makeshift camps along the frontier on Thursday (November 18).
"We hope that soon, thanks to the political support from the European Union and NATO, the attack will end," Duda told a news conference in the North Macedonian capital Skopje after a meeting with his counterpart Stevo Pendarovski.
Belarus authorities cleared the main camps on Thursday where thousands of people had been huddling by the Polish border for days, enduring freezing temperatures.
Hundreds of Iraqis were also sent home on the first repatriation flight from Minsk in months.
However, on Friday, Poland accused Belarus of trucking hundreds of migrants back to the border and forcing them to cross.
Duda also told reporters he was grateful for support expressed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. "We remain vigilant and stand ready to further help our allies," NATO chief told reporters on a visit to Berlin. "Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko's regime's use of vulnerable people as a means to put pressure on other countries is cynical and inhumane. NATO stands in full solidarity with all affected allies," he added.
The president added Poland had asked NATO to pay attention to the situation on the border and the possibility of a potential military attack.
European governments accuse Belarus of flying in thousands of people from the Middle East and pushing them to attempt to cross the border illegally. Around 10 migrants are believed to have died in the freezing woods.
Belarus denies fomenting the crisis deliberately.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters