Poland Warns Migrant Crisis Could Last for Years
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Polish Defense Minister says the migrant crisis with Belarus may last for months or years, while the Belarusian President stresses that he wants to avoid turning the crisis into a confrontation.
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Over 2,000 migrants have been in a camp in a forested area on the border between Belarus and Poland in an icy atmosphere.
Poland warned on Wednesday that the crisis on the Belarusian border could last for months or even years, a day after Polish forces used tear gas and water cannons to deter migrants.
"We have to prepare for the fact that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border will not be resolved quickly. We have to prepare for months or even years," Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak told Poland's Radio Jedynka.
Blaszczak said attempts to cross the border had continued during the night, adding that migrants had used the same "method of attacking the Polish border" as seen on Tuesday at the Bruzgi-Kuznica border crossing.
"The public attention focused on what happened in Kuznica, while smaller groups of migrants tried to break through the Polish border in other sections, also at night," he said.
For his part, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stressed that he wants to avoid turning the migrant crisis at the border with Poland into a confrontation.
11 Injured During Border Clashes
The border guard service said it had detected 161 illegal crossing attempts on Tuesday, including "two forceful attempts."
Polish police said nine officers, a border guard, and a soldier were hurt during Tuesday's clashes.
Earlier, Russia has announced that it is ready to provide assistance to solve the border crisis between Belarus and Poland, as Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Belarus' president Lukashenko have discussed the process of providing humanitarian aid.
On the other hand, France accused Belarus of exploiting refugees, while the US announced that it is preparing, in coordination with the EU, to impose new sanctions against Belarus.
For several days, more than two thousand migrants have been in a camp in a forested area on the border between Belarus and Poland, in an icy atmosphere.
Poland has placed barbed wire at its borders and has deployed at least 15,000 soldiers to prevent migrants from entering its territory.
