Liz Truss calls on Putin to intervene in Belarus migrant crisis

The foreign secretary said Russia has a ‘clear responsibility’ to intervene to end the crisis

The humanitarian crisis at the Belarus-Poland border continues to deepen (DWOT/Reuters)

The UK foreign secretary has called on Vladimir Putin to intervene in the “shameful manufactured migrant crisis” at the border of Belarus and Poland.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Liz Truss insisted the UK “will not look away” as she urged Russia to take “clear responsibility” to end the dispute involving thousands of migrants and Polish troops.

“Russia has a clear responsibility here. It must press the Belarusian authorities to end the crisis and enter into dialogue,” Ms Truss wrote.

It comes as Mr Putin warned Belarus over its threats to disrupt gas supplies to the EU amid the migrant crisis. In a TV interview on Saturday, Mr Putin said President Alexander Lukashenko may have made the threat in a fit of temper, adding that disruption to EU gas supplies would put Belarus in breach of a contract with Russia.

“Of course, in theory, Lukashenko as president of a transit country could order our supplies to be cut to Europe. But this would mean a breach of our gas transit contract and I hope this will not happen,” he told Rossiya television.

The EU has accused Mr Lukashenko of encouraging illegal border crossings as a “hybrid attack” to retaliate against the bloc’s sanctions on his government for its crackdown on domestic protests after his disputed 2020 re-election.

In response, the Belarusian defence ministry accused Poland of “unprecedented” military build-up on the border. Belarus denies the allegations but says it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.

Mr Lukashenko warned the EU that Belarus was “heating” the bloc, and threatened to disrupt gas supplies via major Russian-owned pipelines that traverse the nation.

Russia and Belarus have a union agreement envisaging close political and military ties. Ms Truss added the stand-off “marks the latest step by the Lukashenko regime to undermine regional security”.

“He is using desperate migrants as pawns in his bid to create instability and cling on to power, regardless of the human cost,” she wrote. “The United Kingdom will not look away. We will stand with our allies in the region, who are on the frontier of freedom.”

Police confirmed that the body of a young Syrian man was found on Friday in Polish woodland near the country’s border with Belarus as the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

British armed forces personnel have been deployed to Poland amid growing tension at the border. The Ministry of Defence said on Thursday a “small team” was sent to the area to provide “engineering support”.