Poland urges NATO to take 'concrete steps' amid Belarus border crisis

Poland has called on NATO to take "concrete steps" to resolve the refugee crisis on the country’s border with Belarus, a move that is likely to heighten tensions in the region.

Thousands of migrants have rushed to the Belarus border in the hope of crossing into the European Union (EU), which has prompted the alliance to accuse Minsk of orchestrating the crisis.

Poland has closed its border to the migrants — mostly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday said Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may ask for consultations under the alliance’s treaty, while adding that the EU leaders would discuss further sanctions against Belarus, including completely closing the border.

“It is not enough just for us to publicly express our concern – now we need concrete steps and the commitment of the entire alliance,” he was quoted as saying.

Article 4 of the US-led military alliance allows any ally to request consultations, whenever they think their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.

The migrants are now trapped in freezing conditions at the border between the two countries, with Belarus indicting the EU for turning its back on the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Poland and other EU member states, however, accuse Belarus of coordinating an unprecedented wave of asylum seekers in retaliation for existing sanctions imposed by the bloc on the country.

Minsk has denied the allegations, but the EU on Monday threatened to impose further sanctions on the eastern European country.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was quoted as saying that the bloc will widen sanctions on Belarus to include airlines and travel agencies believed to be involved in transporting migrants.

Putin: Russia ready to help resolve migrant crisis on Belarus, Poland border

Russian president says Moscow is fully prepared to help resolve a migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland.

Morawiecki’s government has deployed hundreds of troops to the frontier, putting up a fence topped with barbed wire and approving the construction of a wall.

The heavy deployment of forces has raised concerns that the migrant crisis could escalate into a possible military confrontation in the region.

Russia President Vladimir Putin, a key backer of Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, earlier this week said his country was fully-prepared to help resolve the crisis.

Putin blamed Western policies in West Asia for the current crisis, saying they are ultimately responsible for the situation at the Belarus-Poland border.

Moscow demonstrated its support for Minsk by flying two long-range Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers over Belarusian airspace on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

The Russian president slammed the "unscheduled" NATO war games in the Black Sea on Saturday, describing them as “a serious challenge” for Moscow.

“It seems that they (NATO) are simply keeping us on our toes. Well, they should know that we are on our toes,” Putin warned.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said Belarus’ actions threaten regional security and distract from Russian military activities on the Ukraine border.

“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed US support for Poland in the face of the Lukashenka regime’s cynical exploitation of vulnerable migrants,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday.

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