03:50Western countries are using the migrant crisis to ‘put pressure’ on Minsk and as a new pretext for tensions in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin told an expanded board meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Wednesday.
"It cannot go unnoticed that Western countries are using the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border as a new pretext for tension in the region close to us, for putting pressure on Minsk. And at the same time, [they] forget their own commitments on the humanitarian track," Putin said.
In addition, Putin criticised the actions of Polish security forces with regard to the migrants stranded on the border with Belarus.
"The first thing that comes to mind: I feel sorry for the children, young children there. No, they pour water and tear gas there, they throw [riot] grenades there. At night, there are helicopters flying along the border and they turn on sirens," said Putin.
The president of Russia pointed out that he was aware of the situation internally in Belarus and urged the Belarusian government and the opposition to start a dialogue.
"But - for its part - Russia will certainly continue its policy of strengthening ties and deepening integration processes with Belarus," Putin added.
Also, during the meeting, the president recalled that "thanks to Russia's active mediation efforts, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was halted a year ago. However, after the recent shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the role of Russian diplomacy has only increased.”
"The efforts of the Russian peacekeeping contingent as a guarantor of the ceasefire and the security of civilians are extremely necessary to ensure stability," Putin stressed.
In addition, at the board meeting, Vladimir Putin expressed concerns over Western supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine, which he said aggravate the situation in Donbass.
"We should take into account that Western partners aggravate the situation [in southeastern Ukraine] by supplying Kiev with lethal modern weapons, by conducting provocative military manoeuvres in the Black Sea - and not only in the Black Sea, but also in other regions close to our borders," the president noted.
According to the Russian leader, in Romania and Poland there are already deployed "systems of anti-missile defence, which can be easily used due to the fact that there are MK-41 launchers and strike complexes.” Putin added that "it's only a matter of a few minutes to change the software." However, the president stressed that Russia will respond adequately to NATO's military activity near its borders.
Russia: Putin says West using migrant crisis to ‘put pressure’ on Minsk
Western countries are using the migrant crisis to ‘put pressure’ on Minsk and as a new pretext for tensions in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin told an expanded board meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Wednesday.
"It cannot go unnoticed that Western countries are using the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border as a new pretext for tension in the region close to us, for putting pressure on Minsk. And at the same time, [they] forget their own commitments on the humanitarian track," Putin said.
In addition, Putin criticised the actions of Polish security forces with regard to the migrants stranded on the border with Belarus.
"The first thing that comes to mind: I feel sorry for the children, young children there. No, they pour water and tear gas there, they throw [riot] grenades there. At night, there are helicopters flying along the border and they turn on sirens," said Putin.
The president of Russia pointed out that he was aware of the situation internally in Belarus and urged the Belarusian government and the opposition to start a dialogue.
"But - for its part - Russia will certainly continue its policy of strengthening ties and deepening integration processes with Belarus," Putin added.
Also, during the meeting, the president recalled that "thanks to Russia's active mediation efforts, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was halted a year ago. However, after the recent shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the role of Russian diplomacy has only increased.”
"The efforts of the Russian peacekeeping contingent as a guarantor of the ceasefire and the security of civilians are extremely necessary to ensure stability," Putin stressed.
In addition, at the board meeting, Vladimir Putin expressed concerns over Western supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine, which he said aggravate the situation in Donbass.
"We should take into account that Western partners aggravate the situation [in southeastern Ukraine] by supplying Kiev with lethal modern weapons, by conducting provocative military manoeuvres in the Black Sea - and not only in the Black Sea, but also in other regions close to our borders," the president noted.
According to the Russian leader, in Romania and Poland there are already deployed "systems of anti-missile defence, which can be easily used due to the fact that there are MK-41 launchers and strike complexes.” Putin added that "it's only a matter of a few minutes to change the software." However, the president stressed that Russia will respond adequately to NATO's military activity near its borders.
Western countries are using the migrant crisis to ‘put pressure’ on Minsk and as a new pretext for tensions in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin told an expanded board meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Wednesday.
"It cannot go unnoticed that Western countries are using the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border as a new pretext for tension in the region close to us, for putting pressure on Minsk. And at the same time, [they] forget their own commitments on the humanitarian track," Putin said.
In addition, Putin criticised the actions of Polish security forces with regard to the migrants stranded on the border with Belarus.
"The first thing that comes to mind: I feel sorry for the children, young children there. No, they pour water and tear gas there, they throw [riot] grenades there. At night, there are helicopters flying along the border and they turn on sirens," said Putin.
The president of Russia pointed out that he was aware of the situation internally in Belarus and urged the Belarusian government and the opposition to start a dialogue.
"But - for its part - Russia will certainly continue its policy of strengthening ties and deepening integration processes with Belarus," Putin added.
Also, during the meeting, the president recalled that "thanks to Russia's active mediation efforts, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was halted a year ago. However, after the recent shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the role of Russian diplomacy has only increased.”
"The efforts of the Russian peacekeeping contingent as a guarantor of the ceasefire and the security of civilians are extremely necessary to ensure stability," Putin stressed.
In addition, at the board meeting, Vladimir Putin expressed concerns over Western supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine, which he said aggravate the situation in Donbass.
"We should take into account that Western partners aggravate the situation [in southeastern Ukraine] by supplying Kiev with lethal modern weapons, by conducting provocative military manoeuvres in the Black Sea - and not only in the Black Sea, but also in other regions close to our borders," the president noted.
According to the Russian leader, in Romania and Poland there are already deployed "systems of anti-missile defence, which can be easily used due to the fact that there are MK-41 launchers and strike complexes.” Putin added that "it's only a matter of a few minutes to change the software." However, the president stressed that Russia will respond adequately to NATO's military activity near its borders.