&nbsp;He has ruled with an iron fist for 27 years, surviving huge street protests, multiple rounds of Western sanctions and even alleged plots by his benefactor, Russia, to remove him.

But a threat President Alexander Lukashenko has never before had to contend with is now taking shape in a squalid migrant encampment along his country’s border with Poland. Having helped funnel desperate migrants to Europe’s doorstep, Lukashenko suddenly has to deal with people like Bale Nisu, a 21-year-old Kurd from Iraq who has taken a liking to Belarus, and would like to settle here.

Many of the more than 2,000 people marooned on the Belarusian side of the razor wire at Bruzgi, a large, shuttered border crossing, insist they won’t give up on trying to get into the European Union. But growing fears that they might instead get sent back to their home countries has made Nisu and others wonder whether staying put in Belarus could be their best option.

“I want to go to Germany, but if that is impossible, I’ll just stay here,” Nisu said Wednesday after moving into a big warehouse near the border that has been converted into a migrant holding center by Belarusian authorities in an effort to release pressure on the border — and burnish the country’s often grim image.

He lamented that he had spent more than $4,000 and days freezing in the forest only to end up in a poor, highly repressive former Soviet republic with little to offer in the way of jobs and other opportunities.

But, showing rips in his pants, which he maintained were caused by Polish security forces beating him up after an abortive attempt to sneak across the frontier last week, he said that Belarus looked far more enticing than returning to Iraq, or more encounters with Polish soldiers and border guards. He said he wanted to apply for asylum in Belarus.

“Belarus,” he said, “is a very, very good country.”

Dictators don’t usually have to worry about having their country praised, but Lukashenko, often described as “Europe’s last dictator,” could face a serious headache if migrants start demanding political asylum in Belarus. It is a predominantly Orthodox Christian nation with scant experience of taking in foreign immigrants and, like Poland and other East European countries, has been generally hostile to non-Christian settlers from outside Europe.

Belarus has spent weeks denouncing Poland for violating international law by refusing to consider asylum requests and pushing back migrants — mostly people fleeing poverty but some of whom have legitimate claims to asylum as refugees from war or persecution — who make it across the border.

But what Belarus presents as a humanitarian crisis is viewed by the EU as the front line in a “hybrid war” engineered by Lukashenko to pressure Europe into lifting sanctions imposed after a contested presidential election last year.

After clashes at the Bruzgi crossing point Tuesday, Polish forces massed just a few yards from the migrant encampment bombarded the Belarusian side with a recorded message giving a stern warning in English, which few of the migrants understand: “If you don’t follow orders, force may be used against you.”

Scores of migrants Wednesday again pushed toward the razor wire that marks the frontier but did not break through. As evening fell, Polish border guards were uncoiling yet more razor wire near the spot where migrants briefly broke through Tuesday.

With hope of getting into Poland and then Germany draining away, desperate parents sent a group of young girls to the razor wire to plead with Polish guards glowering just yards away. “I love you Poland,” they shouted in English. “Please help me. Please open the door.”

Jangi Rasul, a 36-year-old Iraqi Kurd, said he felt sorry for the Polish forces. “They are freezing like we are and are just following orders they get from politicians playing games,” he said.

Rasul sleeps in a small flimsy tent with his wife and three young children — they have only one sleeping bag — and said he was desperate to move on as the money he raised by selling the family’s car and furniture in Sulaimaniyah, a city in northern Iraq, had nearly run out. He waved what he said was all he has left: 200 Belarusian rubles (about $80).

With Poland’s defence minister declaring Wednesday that his country would fight “for months, if not years” to keep out migrants, the prospects for those hoping to enter the EU through Belarus dimmed further and left Lukashenko with a dilemma: what to do with the thousands of people his country has allowed in but who now can’t get out?

On a visit to Warsaw last month, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of the Belarus opposition, said that between 10,000-15,000 migrants had already arrived in her country and would become “a huge problem for Lukashenko” if they got stuck in Belarus.

“He has to deal with all these people somehow,” she said.

It is not clear where those numbers stand now, but they have clearly been growing rapidly over the past month, though the flow has slowed considerably in recent days as airlines halted flights to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, or barred passengers from selected countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Asked how Belarus would respond to requests for asylum, Yuri Karayev, a former interior minister who is now an aide to Lukashenko responsible for the border region of Grodno, expressed surprise Wednesday that anyone would really want to settle in Belarus. He said he did not know how the government would respond to asylum requests.

“I’m of course happy if people like it here, but what happens depends on a decision from the president,” he said during a visit to the newly opened holding center for migrants just outside the Bruzgi border zone.

Karayev dismissed accusations by the EU that Belarus had orchestrated the migrant crisis, saying that people had arrived from countries like Iraq of their own accord, flying in on tourist visas that entitled them to roam around the country at will. “We have nothing to do with this crisis,” he said.

He said the government was trying to ease tensions by moving migrants from the border fence. The real culprit, he said, is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who declared her country open to migrants in 2015.

Around 1,100 people, Karayev said, have already moved to the new holding center. The 800 or so remaining in an encampment that migrants call “the jungle” will be urged to join them in the warehouse, where there is food, bedding, electricity for people to charge their phones and shelter from the biting cold.

Dariya Ibrahim Mohammed, one of those who agreed to move, said he was distraught “after spending so much money and only getting frozen.” He said he would request asylum in Belarus if that was the only way to avoid getting sent back to Iraq.

Another Iraqi, Shajwan Mohammed, said she would like to stay in Belarus with her husband if the doors to the EU remain closed. Exhausted after nearly a month on the road, much of it in the forests that straddle the border with Poland, she said Belarus was not her first choice but “it is much better than going back to Iraq.”

Migrants offer different accounts of the role played by Belarusian security officials in the crisis. Some say they were led to weak points in the border fence and even provided with wire cutters. Others say they organized their own forays into Poland with no help from Belarus.

Aso Ahmed, a 25-year-old Kurd from Iraq, said he had joined two attempts to storm the border en masse, the more recent of which Tuesday led to violent clashes with Polish border guards, who unleashed water cannons and tear gas after being pelted with stones and debris. The efforts, he said, were organized by the migrants, not the Belarusians. “They were not part of it,” he said.

Ahmed, fearing a ruse aimed at gathering people together for deportation to Iraq, has refused to leave the encampment next to the border fence and move to the brick warehouse a few hundred yards away. “It is a trap,” he said. “If I get deported I might as well be dead.”

He has ruled with an iron fist for 27 years, surviving huge street protests, multiple rounds of Western sanctions and even alleged plots by his benefactor, Russia, to remove him.

He has ruled with an iron fist for 27 years, surviving huge street protests, multiple rounds of Western sanctions and even alleged plots by his benefactor, Russia, to remove him. But a threat President Alexander Lukashenko has never before had to contend with is now taking shape in a squalid migrant encampment along his country’s border with Poland. Having helped funnel desperate migrants to Europe’s doorstep, Lukashenko suddenly has to deal with people like Bale Nisu, a 21-year-old Kurd from Iraq who has taken a liking to Belarus, and would like to settle here. Many of the more than 2,000 people marooned on the Belarusian side of the razor wire at Bruzgi, a large, shuttered border crossing, insist they won’t give up on trying to get into the European Union. But growing fears that they might instead get sent back to their home countries has made Nisu and others wonder whether staying put in Belarus could be their best option. “I want to go to Germany, but if that is impossible, I’ll just stay here,” Nisu said Wednesday after moving into a big warehouse near the border that has been converted into a migrant holding center by Belarusian authorities in an effort to release pressure on the border — and burnish the country’s often grim image. He lamented that he had spent more than $4,000 and days freezing in the forest only to end up in a poor, highly repressive former Soviet republic with little to offer in the way of jobs and other opportunities. But, showing rips in his pants, which he maintained were caused by Polish security forces beating him up after an abortive attempt to sneak across the frontier last week, he said that Belarus looked far more enticing than returning to Iraq, or more encounters with Polish soldiers and border guards. He said he wanted to apply for asylum in Belarus. “Belarus,” he said, “is a very, very good country.” Dictators don’t usually have to worry about having their country praised, but Lukashenko, often described as “Europe’s last dictator,” could face a serious headache if migrants start demanding political asylum in Belarus. It is a predominantly Orthodox Christian nation with scant experience of taking in foreign immigrants and, like Poland and other East European countries, has been generally hostile to non-Christian settlers from outside Europe. Belarus has spent weeks denouncing Poland for violating international law by refusing to consider asylum requests and pushing back migrants — mostly people fleeing poverty but some of whom have legitimate claims to asylum as refugees from war or persecution — who make it across the border. But what Belarus presents as a humanitarian crisis is viewed by the EU as the front line in a “hybrid war” engineered by Lukashenko to pressure Europe into lifting sanctions imposed after a contested presidential election last year. After clashes at the Bruzgi crossing point Tuesday, Polish forces massed just a few yards from the migrant encampment bombarded the Belarusian side with a recorded message giving a stern warning in English, which few of the migrants understand: “If you don’t follow orders, force may be used against you.” Scores of migrants Wednesday again pushed toward the razor wire that marks the frontier but did not break through. As evening fell, Polish border guards were uncoiling yet more razor wire near the spot where migrants briefly broke through Tuesday. With hope of getting into Poland and then Germany draining away, desperate parents sent a group of young girls to the razor wire to plead with Polish guards glowering just yards away. “I love you Poland,” they shouted in English. “Please help me. Please open the door.” Jangi Rasul, a 36-year-old Iraqi Kurd, said he felt sorry for the Polish forces. “They are freezing like we are and are just following orders they get from politicians playing games,” he said. Rasul sleeps in a small flimsy tent with his wife and three young children — they have only one sleeping bag — and said he was desperate to move on as the money he raised by selling the family’s car and furniture in Sulaimaniyah, a city in northern Iraq, had nearly run out. He waved what he said was all he has left: 200 Belarusian rubles (about $80). With Poland’s defence minister declaring Wednesday that his country would fight “for months, if not years” to keep out migrants, the prospects for those hoping to enter the EU through Belarus dimmed further and left Lukashenko with a dilemma: what to do with the thousands of people his country has allowed in but who now can’t get out? On a visit to Warsaw last month, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of the Belarus opposition, said that between 10,000-15,000 migrants had already arrived in her country and would become “a huge problem for Lukashenko” if they got stuck in Belarus. “He has to deal with all these people somehow,” she said. It is not clear where those numbers stand now, but they have clearly been growing rapidly over the past month, though the flow has slowed considerably in recent days as airlines halted flights to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, or barred passengers from selected countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Asked how Belarus would respond to requests for asylum, Yuri Karayev, a former interior minister who is now an aide to Lukashenko responsible for the border region of Grodno, expressed surprise Wednesday that anyone would really want to settle in Belarus. He said he did not know how the government would respond to asylum requests. “I’m of course happy if people like it here, but what happens depends on a decision from the president,” he said during a visit to the newly opened holding center for migrants just outside the Bruzgi border zone. Karayev dismissed accusations by the EU that Belarus had orchestrated the migrant crisis, saying that people had arrived from countries like Iraq of their own accord, flying in on tourist visas that entitled them to roam around the country at will. “We have nothing to do with this crisis,” he said. He said the government was trying to ease tensions by moving migrants from the border fence. The real culprit, he said, is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who declared her country open to migrants in 2015. Around 1,100 people, Karayev said, have already moved to the new holding center. The 800 or so remaining in an encampment that migrants call “the jungle” will be urged to join them in the warehouse, where there is food, bedding, electricity for people to charge their phones and shelter from the biting cold. Dariya Ibrahim Mohammed, one of those who agreed to move, said he was distraught “after spending so much money and only getting frozen.” He said he would request asylum in Belarus if that was the only way to avoid getting sent back to Iraq. Another Iraqi, Shajwan Mohammed, said she would like to stay in Belarus with her husband if the doors to the EU remain closed. Exhausted after nearly a month on the road, much of it in the forests that straddle the border with Poland, she said Belarus was not her first choice but “it is much better than going back to Iraq.” Migrants offer different accounts of the role played by Belarusian security officials in the crisis. Some say they were led to weak points in the border fence and even provided with wire cutters. Others say they organized their own forays into Poland with no help from Belarus. Aso Ahmed, a 25-year-old Kurd from Iraq, said he had joined two attempts to storm the border en masse, the more recent of which Tuesday led to violent clashes with Polish border guards, who unleashed water cannons and tear gas after being pelted with stones and debris. The efforts, he said, were organized by the migrants, not the Belarusians. “They were not part of it,” he said. Ahmed, fearing a ruse aimed at gathering people together for deportation to Iraq, has refused to leave the encampment next to the border fence and move to the brick warehouse a few hundred yards away. “It is a trap,” he said. “If I get deported I might as well be dead.”

Risk for leader of Belarus: Migrants he lured may want to stay

Amid tensions with Belarus, Poland said hundreds of migrants had tried to breach the border.

President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly said that it was "absolutely possible" Belarus forces may have helped the migrants to cross the border.

Lukashenko told the BBC that he won't "detain migrants on the border". The Western countries have accused the Belarus president of igniting the migrant crisis at the border with Poland.

Polish border guards have reportedly detained several migrants after they attempted to cross the eastern border and attacked them with rocks.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iraqis-check-in-for-flight-home-after-failing-to-enter-eu-from-belarus-430323">Also Read:&nbsp;Iraqis check in for flight home after failing to enter EU from Belarus</a>

Reports claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the Belarus president in an attempt to resolve the border crisis.

Amid the border row, Ukraine declared it hasn't ruled out the possibility of Russia "purposefully" sending a large number of migrants through Belarus into its territory.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/poland-to-build-a-wall-as-migrant-crisis-escalates-at-belarus-poland-border-429730">Also Read:&nbsp;Poland to build a wall, as migrant crisis escalates at Belarus-Poland border</a>

There are at least 7,000 migrants in Belarus, according to officials. At least eleven migrants have died at the border since the crisis began this summer.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-backs-lukashenko-as-migrant-crisis-escalates-at-belarus-poland-border-429584">Also Read:&nbsp;Russia backs Lukashenko as migrant crisis escalates at Belarus-Poland border</a>

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Antony Blinken called for the "weaponisation" of migration to stop as he indicated that the Biden administration could expand sanctions imposed on Belarus.

Most of the migrants are of Middle Eastern origin who have been trying to enter Europe with Poland as the gateway. They have been battling freezing conditions at the border triggering a&nbsp;humanitarian situation along the border.

Council of Europe human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said the migrants had spent months under "squalid and extreme conditions" while calling for "pushbacks" to end.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Amid tensions with Belarus, Poland said hundreds of migrants had tried to breach the border. President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly said that it was "absolutely possible" Belarus forces may have helped the migrants to cross the border.

Amid tensions with Belarus, Poland said hundreds of migrants had tried to breach the border. President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly said that it was "absolutely possible" Belarus forces may have helped the migrants to cross the border. Lukashenko told the BBC that he won't "detain migrants on the border". The Western countries have accused the Belarus president of igniting the migrant crisis at the border with Poland. Polish border guards have reportedly detained several migrants after they attempted to cross the eastern border and attacked them with rocks. Also Read: Iraqis check in for flight home after failing to enter EU from Belarus Reports claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the Belarus president in an attempt to resolve the border crisis. Amid the border row, Ukraine declared it hasn't ruled out the possibility of Russia "purposefully" sending a large number of migrants through Belarus into its territory. Also Read: Poland to build a wall, as migrant crisis escalates at Belarus-Poland border There are at least 7,000 migrants in Belarus, according to officials. At least eleven migrants have died at the border since the crisis began this summer. Also Read: Russia backs Lukashenko as migrant crisis escalates at Belarus-Poland border Meanwhile, US secretary of state Antony Blinken called for the "weaponisation" of migration to stop as he indicated that the Biden administration could expand sanctions imposed on Belarus. Most of the migrants are of Middle Eastern origin who have been trying to enter Europe with Poland as the gateway. They have been battling freezing conditions at the border triggering a humanitarian situation along the border. Council of Europe human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said the migrants had spent months under "squalid and extreme conditions" while calling for "pushbacks" to end. (With inputs from Agencies)

Poland-Belarus border row continues as Lukashenko says won't detain migrants

As European governments threatened Belarus with deeper sanctions this week for fomenting the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, its bombastic leader countered with what sounded like a trump card: He could stop the flow of gas to the West.

There was just one problem: It wasn’t his gas to stop.

So Friday, Russia — which sends much of its gas to Europe via Belarus — had to set the record straight for the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

“Russia was, is and will remain a country that fulfills all of its obligations in supplying European customers with gas,” the spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin told reporters.

With thousands of migrants still stranded in the frigid cold on the edge of the European Union — encouraged by Belarus to go there but barred by Poland, an EU member, from crossing its border — the complex relationship between two allied autocrats looms large over the crisis. The mixed messaging over Russia’s natural gas exports was the latest sign that even as Putin continues to back Lukashenko, it is the Belarusian leader — a strongman who once ran a Soviet collective farm — who keeps raising the stakes.

Lukashenko’s Belarus is Russia’s only full-fledged ally in Eastern Europe, the region that Moscow has long seen as its most important sphere of influence. That gives him outsize leverage with Putin, even though his country of 9 million people has a fraction of the size — let alone the military might — of its eastern neighbour.

Now, with tensions between Belarus and the West reaching their highest level since Lukashenko brutally suppressed a popular uprising last year, some allies of the Kremlin say Russia is getting drawn into a crisis not of its choosing.

“We cannot allow the tail to wag the dog,” said Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian lawmaker from Putin’s party who specializes in relations with post-Soviet countries. “Lukashenko psychologically wants to be the victor — it is his desire to be macho. Between that desire and our policies, there is a difference that must be seen.”

Lukashenko’s gambit — Western officials have accused him of orchestrating the flow of migrants to the border — has underscored the uneasy alliance between his government and its powerful Russian ally. Last spring, facing a storm of international outrage over the forced landing of a European passenger jet with a Belarusian dissident on board, Lukashenko seemed to have no choice but to bow to his Kremlin benefactors and to assent to deeper integration with them.

But six months later, Lukashenko has wrapped up long-running talks with Putin without appearing to cede much Belarusian sovereignty, and he is again leaving the Kremlin no choice but to double down in its support.

“People in Moscow are totally sick and tired of Lukashenko,” said Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst. “He is the cleverest of negotiators.”

On Friday, in a show of solidarity, Russia flew paratroopers to the vicinity of Belarus’ border with Poland for exercises with Belarusian soldiers. Two paratroopers died from injuries suffered in the exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Earlier in the week, Russia twice sent nuclear-capable bombers on patrols to the same region.

The Belarus defence minister, Viktor Khrenin, asserted that Belarusian and Russian intelligence information showed that EU neighbours, especially Poland, had taken military actions that suggested they were ready to “start a conflict.”

But even some critics of Lukashenko and Putin believe that at some point, the Kremlin will try to pull Belarus back from confrontation.

“I think that in this specific crisis, the impulse to wrap it up will come via Russia,” said Artyom Shraibman, a Belarusian scholar for the Carnegie Moscow Center who was forced to flee Belarus this year. “For Russia, escalation will get uncomfortable.”

In the current crisis, Lukashenko’s goal is simple, if far-fetched, analysts say: to force the EU — which sees him as an illegitimate president — to negotiate with him and to drop its sanctions. A senior EU official said Friday that the bloc had “no information” indicating that Putin had instigated the migrant crisis, but criticized Russia for not influencing Belarus to stop it.

For now, the Kremlin appears content to let Europe struggle with Lukashenko on its own. Though Putin spoke with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany twice this week, Russian officials continue to insist that the Europeans must speak to Belarus directly.

With pressure mounting to end the border crisis, several airlines Friday said they were limiting flights to Belarus from the Middle East, where most of the migrants have travelled from. They include Turkish Airlines, one of the largest carriers to offer flights to Minsk, the Belarusian capital.

At the same time, aid groups described dire conditions for migrants huddled at the border, struggling against the cold and threats of violence. One Iraqi couple and a Syrian man were beaten and robbed, according to the activist coalition Grupa Granica.

The migration crisis comes amid the backdrop of rising tensions between Russia and Belarus’ southern neighbour, Ukraine — a onetime Russian ally that broke away in its pro-Western revolution in 2014. Ukraine’s turn looms large for Moscow, a cautionary tale that the Kremlin is determined not to repeat.

“Putin took Crimea, which is very good, but Putin lost Ukraine,” Markov said. “If he also loses Belarus, he will never be forgiven for it.”

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, and for years profited from the competition between Russia and the West for influence in his country, provoking deep frustration in Moscow. That game ended last year, when he declared a landslide reelection victory in a vote widely seen as fraudulent, leading the EU to impose sanctions that continue to rankle him.

With Lukashenko’s opponents seen as too pro-Western, the Kremlin-backed him despite its reservations — saving Lukashenko’s regime but saddling Putin with an ever-more-erratic ally.

In Moscow, many expected the Kremlin’s backing to translate into tighter integration into a “union state” between Russia and Belarus that would have magnified Putin’s geopolitical sway. But those talks ended earlier this fall without an agreement on a common currency or legislature — signalling that Lukashenko was able to retain his independence.

Putin and Lukashenko, both in their late 60s, share a worldview focused on a two-faced, decadent West. Both have overseen harsh crackdowns on dissent in the past year. The 2020 uprising against Lukashenko in a neighbouring, Russian-speaking country spooked the Kremlin, Russian analysts say, and helped prompt Putin’s decision to dismantle the movement of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Lukashenko’s approach toward migration shows how he has sought to manoeuvre between Russia and the West. In 2018, he boasted that his country’s border guards were significantly reducing the trafficking of migrants and drugs into the EU. In recent months, he has swerved the other way, with Western officials saying he has orchestrated a wave of migration through the Minsk airport toward his country’s borders, hoping to embarrass the EU into legitimizing him.

On the ground in Minsk, the human toll of that strategy is evident.

When large numbers of asylum-seekers began arriving over the summer, a rights activist in Minsk said, they came as part of organized tour groups with reservations at the Yubileyny — a hotel complex operated by the presidential administration of the Republic of Belarus.

Now, they are starting to run out of money, said Alena Chekhovich, the activist in Minsk, with some forced to sleep on the street. Others relocated to hostels in the city center, even with expired visas — another sign, Chekhovich claimed, that the Belarusian government, which typically watches closely for migration violations, was exacerbating the crisis.

Chekhovich said many migrants who make it from Minsk to the border are basically marooned in makeshift camps there, monitored by Belarusian border guards who prevent them from returning.

“It’s sad that people are ending up in this situation simply because of the actions of the state,” she said.

As European governments threatened Belarus with deeper sanctions this week for fomenting the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, its bombastic leader countered with what sounded like a trump card: He could stop the flow of gas to the West.

As European governments threatened Belarus with deeper sanctions this week for fomenting the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, its bombastic leader countered with what sounded like a trump card: He could stop the flow of gas to the West. There was just one problem: It wasn’t his gas to stop. So Friday, Russia — which sends much of its gas to Europe via Belarus — had to set the record straight for the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko. “Russia was, is and will remain a country that fulfills all of its obligations in supplying European customers with gas,” the spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin told reporters. With thousands of migrants still stranded in the frigid cold on the edge of the European Union — encouraged by Belarus to go there but barred by Poland, an EU member, from crossing its border — the complex relationship between two allied autocrats looms large over the crisis. The mixed messaging over Russia’s natural gas exports was the latest sign that even as Putin continues to back Lukashenko, it is the Belarusian leader — a strongman who once ran a Soviet collective farm — who keeps raising the stakes. Lukashenko’s Belarus is Russia’s only full-fledged ally in Eastern Europe, the region that Moscow has long seen as its most important sphere of influence. That gives him outsize leverage with Putin, even though his country of 9 million people has a fraction of the size — let alone the military might — of its eastern neighbour. Now, with tensions between Belarus and the West reaching their highest level since Lukashenko brutally suppressed a popular uprising last year, some allies of the Kremlin say Russia is getting drawn into a crisis not of its choosing. “We cannot allow the tail to wag the dog,” said Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian lawmaker from Putin’s party who specializes in relations with post-Soviet countries. “Lukashenko psychologically wants to be the victor — it is his desire to be macho. Between that desire and our policies, there is a difference that must be seen.” Lukashenko’s gambit — Western officials have accused him of orchestrating the flow of migrants to the border — has underscored the uneasy alliance between his government and its powerful Russian ally. Last spring, facing a storm of international outrage over the forced landing of a European passenger jet with a Belarusian dissident on board, Lukashenko seemed to have no choice but to bow to his Kremlin benefactors and to assent to deeper integration with them. But six months later, Lukashenko has wrapped up long-running talks with Putin without appearing to cede much Belarusian sovereignty, and he is again leaving the Kremlin no choice but to double down in its support. “People in Moscow are totally sick and tired of Lukashenko,” said Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst. “He is the cleverest of negotiators.” On Friday, in a show of solidarity, Russia flew paratroopers to the vicinity of Belarus’ border with Poland for exercises with Belarusian soldiers. Two paratroopers died from injuries suffered in the exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Earlier in the week, Russia twice sent nuclear-capable bombers on patrols to the same region. The Belarus defence minister, Viktor Khrenin, asserted that Belarusian and Russian intelligence information showed that EU neighbours, especially Poland, had taken military actions that suggested they were ready to “start a conflict.” But even some critics of Lukashenko and Putin believe that at some point, the Kremlin will try to pull Belarus back from confrontation. “I think that in this specific crisis, the impulse to wrap it up will come via Russia,” said Artyom Shraibman, a Belarusian scholar for the Carnegie Moscow Center who was forced to flee Belarus this year. “For Russia, escalation will get uncomfortable.” In the current crisis, Lukashenko’s goal is simple, if far-fetched, analysts say: to force the EU — which sees him as an illegitimate president — to negotiate with him and to drop its sanctions. A senior EU official said Friday that the bloc had “no information” indicating that Putin had instigated the migrant crisis, but criticized Russia for not influencing Belarus to stop it. For now, the Kremlin appears content to let Europe struggle with Lukashenko on its own. Though Putin spoke with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany twice this week, Russian officials continue to insist that the Europeans must speak to Belarus directly. With pressure mounting to end the border crisis, several airlines Friday said they were limiting flights to Belarus from the Middle East, where most of the migrants have travelled from. They include Turkish Airlines, one of the largest carriers to offer flights to Minsk, the Belarusian capital. At the same time, aid groups described dire conditions for migrants huddled at the border, struggling against the cold and threats of violence. One Iraqi couple and a Syrian man were beaten and robbed, according to the activist coalition Grupa Granica. The migration crisis comes amid the backdrop of rising tensions between Russia and Belarus’ southern neighbour, Ukraine — a onetime Russian ally that broke away in its pro-Western revolution in 2014. Ukraine’s turn looms large for Moscow, a cautionary tale that the Kremlin is determined not to repeat. “Putin took Crimea, which is very good, but Putin lost Ukraine,” Markov said. “If he also loses Belarus, he will never be forgiven for it.” Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, and for years profited from the competition between Russia and the West for influence in his country, provoking deep frustration in Moscow. That game ended last year, when he declared a landslide reelection victory in a vote widely seen as fraudulent, leading the EU to impose sanctions that continue to rankle him. With Lukashenko’s opponents seen as too pro-Western, the Kremlin-backed him despite its reservations — saving Lukashenko’s regime but saddling Putin with an ever-more-erratic ally. In Moscow, many expected the Kremlin’s backing to translate into tighter integration into a “union state” between Russia and Belarus that would have magnified Putin’s geopolitical sway. But those talks ended earlier this fall without an agreement on a common currency or legislature — signalling that Lukashenko was able to retain his independence. Putin and Lukashenko, both in their late 60s, share a worldview focused on a two-faced, decadent West. Both have overseen harsh crackdowns on dissent in the past year. The 2020 uprising against Lukashenko in a neighbouring, Russian-speaking country spooked the Kremlin, Russian analysts say, and helped prompt Putin’s decision to dismantle the movement of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Lukashenko’s approach toward migration shows how he has sought to manoeuvre between Russia and the West. In 2018, he boasted that his country’s border guards were significantly reducing the trafficking of migrants and drugs into the EU. In recent months, he has swerved the other way, with Western officials saying he has orchestrated a wave of migration through the Minsk airport toward his country’s borders, hoping to embarrass the EU into legitimizing him. On the ground in Minsk, the human toll of that strategy is evident. When large numbers of asylum-seekers began arriving over the summer, a rights activist in Minsk said, they came as part of organized tour groups with reservations at the Yubileyny — a hotel complex operated by the presidential administration of the Republic of Belarus. Now, they are starting to run out of money, said Alena Chekhovich, the activist in Minsk, with some forced to sleep on the street. Others relocated to hostels in the city center, even with expired visas — another sign, Chekhovich claimed, that the Belarusian government, which typically watches closely for migration violations, was exacerbating the crisis. Chekhovich said many migrants who make it from Minsk to the border are basically marooned in makeshift camps there, monitored by Belarusian border guards who prevent them from returning. “It’s sad that people are ending up in this situation simply because of the actions of the state,” she said.

Migrant crisis in Belarus tests Putin’s uneasy alliance with Lukashenko

Migrants continued to pour into the Polish border as police said some broke through the defences on Belarus said and entered the country.

The situation at the Polish-Belarus border has been tense as migrants mainly from the Middle East have sought a passage into Europe amid tensions between the two countries. Reports claim Belarus has sent more troops at the border.

British foreign secretary Liz Truss asserted that the responsibility to end the crisis at the border was Russia's "responsibility".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-have-nothing-to-do-with-it-says-putin-on-belarus-poland-migrant-crisis-429022">Also Read:&nbsp;We have nothing to do with it, says Putin on Belarus-Poland migrant crisis</a>

The UK foreign secretary said Russia must "press the &nbsp;Belarusian authorities" to end the crisis at the border. Kremlin had earlier blamed EU officials for the situation at the border.

Watch:&nbsp;Belarus threatens to cut off gas to EU

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/poland-belarus-migrant-crisis-belarus-threatens-to-cut-off-gas-to-eu-428814/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Belarusian officials have said at least 2,000 people including women and children have been stranded at the border, although Polish authorities have put the figure much higher.

The British foreign secretary accused President Lukashenko of "using desperate migrants as pawns" to create instability in the region.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/migrant-crisis-in-belarus-tests-putins-uneasy-alliance-with-lukashenko-429134">Also Read:&nbsp;Migrant crisis in Belarus tests Putin’s uneasy alliance with Lukashenko</a>

Relations between the West and Belarus has hit a new low due to the crisis.&nbsp;EU had imposed a string of sanctions on Lukashenko's regime last year over alleged human rights abuses and internal unrest over controversial domestic elections.

EU's top official Josep Borrell said the block will extend its sanctions on the country amid the migrant crisis.

As tension mounted at the border, Lukashenko said he wants "500-kilometres missile systems" - the Iskander to deploy in the south and west.

Lukashenko asserted that he needs "several divisions". Belarus and Polish troops had recently conducted a paratrooper drill close to the Polish border.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Migrants continued to pour into the Polish border as police said some broke through the defences on Belarus said and entered the country. The situation at the Polish-Belarus border has been tense as migrants mainly from the Middle East have sought a passage into Europe amid tensions between the two countries.

Migrants continued to pour into the Polish border as police said some broke through the defences on Belarus said and entered the country. The situation at the Polish-Belarus border has been tense as migrants mainly from the Middle East have sought a passage into Europe amid tensions between the two countries. Reports claim Belarus has sent more troops at the border. British foreign secretary Liz Truss asserted that the responsibility to end the crisis at the border was Russia's "responsibility". Also Read: We have nothing to do with it, says Putin on Belarus-Poland migrant crisis The UK foreign secretary said Russia must "press the Belarusian authorities" to end the crisis at the border. Kremlin had earlier blamed EU officials for the situation at the border. Watch: Belarus threatens to cut off gas to EU Belarusian officials have said at least 2,000 people including women and children have been stranded at the border, although Polish authorities have put the figure much higher. The British foreign secretary accused President Lukashenko of "using desperate migrants as pawns" to create instability in the region. Also Read: Migrant crisis in Belarus tests Putin’s uneasy alliance with Lukashenko Relations between the West and Belarus has hit a new low due to the crisis. EU had imposed a string of sanctions on Lukashenko's regime last year over alleged human rights abuses and internal unrest over controversial domestic elections. EU's top official Josep Borrell said the block will extend its sanctions on the country amid the migrant crisis. As tension mounted at the border, Lukashenko said he wants "500-kilometres missile systems" - the Iskander to deploy in the south and west. Lukashenko asserted that he needs "several divisions". Belarus and Polish troops had recently conducted a paratrooper drill close to the Polish border. (With inputs from Agencies)

'Using desperate migrants as pawns': Lukashenko faces sanctions threat, pitches for Russian missiles

President Putin said on Saturday that Russia has "nothing&nbsp;to do" with the migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border.

"Everybody is trying to make us responsible for something at every given opportunity," the Russian president lamented.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/how-belarus-became-gateway-to-eu-for-middle-east-migrants-428982">Also Read:&nbsp;How Belarus became gateway to EU for Middle East migrants</a>

The Russian president hoped for a "direct dialogue" between the European Union and Belarus President Lukashenko. Putin said "as I understood" Chancellor Merkel and Lukashenko are willing to talk.

Putin added that Lukashenko hadn't spoken to him on the possibility of cutting gas supply to Europe while adding that "he didn't even hint".

Watch:&nbsp;Thousands of migrants gather at Polish-Belarus border&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/thousands-of-migrants-trapped-in-limbo-russia-urges-eu-to-talk-to-belarus-428803/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The Russian president's comments come after Belarus and Russian troops conducted military drills with near Poland.

Belarus said the exercise was conducted due to the &nbsp;"build-up of military activity" near the border. &nbsp;Reports claimed two &nbsp;Russian paratroopers were killed during the exercise after their parachutes malfunctioned.&nbsp;

EU has blamed Lukashenko for the migrant crisis as hundreds of people massed at the Polish&nbsp;border to gain entry into Europe as they were pushed back by Polish soldiers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier blamed the EU for the migrant problem asserting that it was "Europeans' reluctance to demonstrate commitment to their European values".

Kremlin dismissed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki comments who had said that&nbsp;Russia was behind the migrant crisis. The Kremlin said&nbsp;was "absolutely irresponsible" and "unacceptable".

(With inputs from Agencies)

President Putin said on Saturday that Russia has "nothing to do" with the migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border. "Everybody is trying to make us responsible for something at every given opportunity," the Russian president lamented.

President Putin said on Saturday that Russia has "nothing to do" with the migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border. "Everybody is trying to make us responsible for something at every given opportunity," the Russian president lamented. Also Read: How Belarus became gateway to EU for Middle East migrants The Russian president hoped for a "direct dialogue" between the European Union and Belarus President Lukashenko. Putin said "as I understood" Chancellor Merkel and Lukashenko are willing to talk. Putin added that Lukashenko hadn't spoken to him on the possibility of cutting gas supply to Europe while adding that "he didn't even hint". Watch: Thousands of migrants gather at Polish-Belarus border The Russian president's comments come after Belarus and Russian troops conducted military drills with near Poland. Belarus said the exercise was conducted due to the "build-up of military activity" near the border. Reports claimed two Russian paratroopers were killed during the exercise after their parachutes malfunctioned. EU has blamed Lukashenko for the migrant crisis as hundreds of people massed at the Polish border to gain entry into Europe as they were pushed back by Polish soldiers. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier blamed the EU for the migrant problem asserting that it was "Europeans' reluctance to demonstrate commitment to their European values". Kremlin dismissed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki comments who had said that Russia was behind the migrant crisis. The Kremlin said was "absolutely irresponsible" and "unacceptable". (With inputs from Agencies)

We have nothing to do with it, says Putin on Belarus-Poland migrant crisis

Amid tension at the Polish border over the migrant crisis, Russia said claims by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Putin's regime was responsible was "unacceptable".

The Russian defence ministry said two Russian bombers carried out flights over Belarus.

The the nuclear-capable&nbsp;fighter jets were Tu-22M3 bombers which conducted tests on the two countries' joint air defence system, it said.

Polish PM Morawiecki had earlier accused Belarus of "state terrorism" as thousands of migrants gathered at the border while saying that he believed it was&nbsp;"quiet revenge" by Lukashenko for supporting the opposition.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-masterminding-the-migrant-crisis-at-poland-belarus-border-claims-polish-pm-428130">Also Read:&nbsp;Putin masterminding the migrant crisis at Poland-Belarus border, claims Polish PM</a>

Reports claimed migrants tried to breach the border once again as Polish authorities pushed them back. The migrants are mainly from the Middle East who have been trying to enter Europe.&nbsp;

Amid the escalating crisis, German President Angela Merkel called Putin to stop the "instrumentalisation of migrants by the Belarusian regime" declaring that it was "inhumane and unacceptable".

Watch:&nbsp;Migrant crisis at border between Poland and Belarus

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/migrant-crisis-at-border-between-poland-and-belarus-intensifies-428225/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The Russian president reportedly said the EU should directly speak to Lukashenko over the crisis.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/poland-accuses-lukashenkos-regime-of-hybrid-attack-amid-migrant-crisis-428032">Also Read:&nbsp;Poland accuses Lukashenko’s regime of 'hybrid attack' amid migrant crisis</a>

Migrants continued to pour along the Poland-Belarus border braving the sub-zero temperatures as Polish guards continued to block their entry.

Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called the situation refugee situation "appalling" as she urged states to take immediate steps to de-escalate.

Reports said Polish authorities have detained at least 50 migrants as the country's defence ministry said there were attacks on the Polish border in several places.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Amid tension at the Polish border over the migrant crisis, Russia said claims by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Putin's regime was responsible was "unacceptable".

Amid tension at the Polish border over the migrant crisis, Russia said claims by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Putin's regime was responsible was "unacceptable". The Russian defence ministry said two Russian bombers carried out flights over Belarus. The the nuclear-capable fighter jets were Tu-22M3 bombers which conducted tests on the two countries' joint air defence system, it said. Polish PM Morawiecki had earlier accused Belarus of "state terrorism" as thousands of migrants gathered at the border while saying that he believed it was "quiet revenge" by Lukashenko for supporting the opposition. Also Read: Putin masterminding the migrant crisis at Poland-Belarus border, claims Polish PM Reports claimed migrants tried to breach the border once again as Polish authorities pushed them back. The migrants are mainly from the Middle East who have been trying to enter Europe. Amid the escalating crisis, German President Angela Merkel called Putin to stop the "instrumentalisation of migrants by the Belarusian regime" declaring that it was "inhumane and unacceptable". Watch: Migrant crisis at border between Poland and Belarus The Russian president reportedly said the EU should directly speak to Lukashenko over the crisis. Also Read: Poland accuses Lukashenko’s regime of 'hybrid attack' amid migrant crisis Migrants continued to pour along the Poland-Belarus border braving the sub-zero temperatures as Polish guards continued to block their entry. Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called the situation refugee situation "appalling" as she urged states to take immediate steps to de-escalate. Reports said Polish authorities have detained at least 50 migrants as the country's defence ministry said there were attacks on the Polish border in several places. (With inputs from Agencies)

Amid Poland-Belarus border migrant crisis, Russia flies bombers over Belarus

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