Minsk

Thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have flocked to Europe after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced in May that he was easing measures against those wishing to emigrate to the West.

Hope for de-escalating the crisis, which has seen thousands camping in desperate conditions on the border for weeks, had been mounting in recent days, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko twice by phone.

Sarajevo – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs took part in a regional ministerial conference in Sarajevo on Thursday, advocating the strengthening of cooperation and partnership in the Western Balkans region regarding migration management and maintaining security, said the Interior Ministry.

Hundreds of migrants who were camped in the cold on the Poland-Belarus border have been moved to a nearby warehouse in Belarusian territory, reports said on Nov. 17, with some still harboring hopes of entering the European Union.

The European Union and the United States vowed on Nov. 15 to press ahead with fresh sanctions against the regime of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, as migrants massed at the Polish border despite Minsk claiming it was trying to repatriate them.

Blaming Turkey or its national airline for the humanitarian crisis at the Polish border with Belarus is "misguided", President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's top foreign policy adviser told AFP on Nov. 13.

Migrants approaching a fence at the Belarus-Polish border in the Grodno region of Belarus, November 10, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/LEONID SCHEGLOV/BELTA

Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau on Wednesday that Turkey was being made part of a problem despite not being party to it.

Turkey’s national flag-carrier, Turkish Airlines, was still flying migrants from Constantinople to Minsk twice a day despite the border crisis

Poland said it blocked a bid by hundreds of migrants to illegally enter the country from Belarus on Nov. 8, warning of an "armed" escalation as thousands more massed near the border.

As the latest grim chapter of Europe's migrant crisis unfolded, Washington and Brussels called on Minsk to stop what they described as an orchestrated influx.

Migrants massed on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland: Image: Polish Ministry of Defence

The Polish government called an extraordinary meeting of the crisis management team for 1pm Central Europe Time (CET). At the time of publishing, the standoff on the ground appears to be stable, with no major incidents as yet.