The Kremlin has said that “Britain is to blame” for the illegal migrant crisis on the Polish border after foreign secretary Liz Truss called on President Vladimir Putin to intervene.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the UK had a “historical responsibility” for the plight of Iraqi refugees who were amassing at the border and attempting to cross into Europe.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss accused Belarus’ President Lukashenko of using “desperate migrants as pawns” in a “carefully crafted crisis”.
The European Union has claimed President Lukashenko is deliberately pushing migrants across the border in response to economic sanctions placed on his regime.
Responding to Ms Truss on Sunday, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied that Mr Putin bore any responsibility for the crisis despite his continued support for Belarus.
“The British invasion of Iraq was ‘carefully crafted,’” Ms Zakharova said.
She continued: “Britain bears a clear historical responsibility for everything that has happened in the region since – the deaths of Iraqis, the destruction of Iraqi statehood, the endless flows of refugees, the emergence of ISIS, the humanitarian disasters in this part of the world.
“Until London is held accountable for its crimes, its representatives have no right to point the finger at anyone.”
President Vladimir Putin said on an interview with Russian state TV: “Do not forget where the crisis associated with migrants came from,”
“Is it Belarus that pioneered these problems or what? No, these are causes that were created by the Western countries, including European countries.”
Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s Prime Minister, has called for NATO to step in.
“It is not enough just for us to publicly express our concern – now we need concrete steps and the commitment of the entire alliance,” he told Polish state-run news agency PAP.
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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