On Saturday, Poland’s border guard service claimed that Belarusian soldiers attacked the border fence in the area of the village of Czeremcha east of Warsaw.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he has had talks with the prime ministers of Lithuania and Latvia about the incident.
Morawiecki told the news agency on Sunday PAP that Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are considering requesting a so-called Article 4 meeting in NATO.
– We are discussing with Latvia, and especially Lithuania, whether we should not request an Article 4 meeting in NATO. This means that the parties will consult with each other whenever one of them believes that any party’s territorial inviolability, political independence or security is threatened, says the Polish Prime Minister.
Full readiness
At the same time, Polish forces are on full alert at the border crossing at the town of Kuznica. In a video posted by the Polish Ministry of the Interior on Twitter, a message from the police is heard, which is announced in several languages:
– Important message: If you do not follow orders, force can be used against you.
Condemned Belarus
The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest political body, on Friday condemned the use of migrants as a hybrid tactic, and said in a statement that this endangers vulnerable lives.
“We are on the lookout for further escalation and provocation from Belarus at the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia,” said the North Atlantic Council.
– Polish soldiers and police at the Kuzniza border crossing. Photo: DWOT / Reuters / NTB
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Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom and the EU countries in the UN Security Council on Friday condemned Belarus’ treatment of people staying at the country’s border with Poland.
“The tactic is unacceptable and necessitates strong international reactions and cooperation to hold Belarus accountable,” the countries wrote in a statement. The statement came after an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation on Thursday.
NATO sources: Hybrid warfare
Tensions are rising between East and West, and NATO is on the verge of further escalating the situation in the region.
Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused by Poland and others of sending refugees and migrants to the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, in retaliation for EU sanctions against his regime.
According to Polish authorities, more than 10,000 people have tried to cross the border illegally since August, 6,700 in November alone.
– Migrants at Grodno on the Belarusian side of the border. Photo: Leonid Shcheglov / BelTA / NTB
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Poland has sent 15,000 troops to the border area to prevent more people from taking over, as well as laying barbed wire and other barriers to prevent people from taking over. The country’s prime minister this week accused Belarus of state terrorism.
NATO sources call it hybrid warfare and have promised to come to the country’s rescue, and the EU is threatening Belarus with new sanctions.
– Will respond strongly
Belarus’s armed forces are ready to respond forcefully to any attack, Belarus’s Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said. Tass.
Khrenin says it looks as if Poland will drag Europe into a full-fledged military conflict with Belarus.
– We are prepared to defend the borders of the Union state. The use of language with ultimatums, threats and blackmail is unacceptable. We want to warn angry people against overestimating their own capacity, he says and emphasizes that Russia, which is allied with Belarus, is ready to help.
Russia has made strategic bombers available, too regularly patrolling the airspace. The airstrikes will take care of the union state of Russia and Belarus’ military security, Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday.
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