West bears blame for migrants flocking to Belarusian-Polish border — Russian FM

Tensions in Europe have been on the rise for many years and the situation with migrants on the EU eastern border is just a part of the big picture, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, said on Telegram in response to comments by Lukasz Jasina, the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman, who said that Russia is allegedly taking advantage of the crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border and is lying and twisting the facts, which heightens tensions in Europe.

“Let’s not pretend it started yesterday. The situation at the EU eastern border is just a part of the big picture. A failure to see it, to understand it and admit it – that’s what constitutes the twisting of facts and lying. Lying of the worst kind that can ever exist – lying to themselves,’’ she said.

The diplomat said tensions in Europe had been on the rise for many years, which has occurred “first of all due to the loss of independence by some of its countries to curry favor with non-European countries in implementing their political agenda, and also due to irresponsible interference in the affairs of sovereign states and double standards in approaches to the most important democratic principles,’’ she said.

There are many examples, the spokeswoman said. “The destruction of the Iraqi statehood, which happened due to the actions of the US administration and allied states, caused tectonic shifts in the region. The West-sponsored ‘’Arab spring,’’ the NATO campaign against Libya, the interference of the collective West in the affairs of Syria and the support of international terrorism there and, most importantly, the emergence of ISIS (the former name of the IS terrorist group, which is banned in Russia) on the ruins of the Iraqi state – all that has led to a mass exodus of refugees and migrants from that part of the world to Europe. And of course, the information campaigns that are founded on the humiliation of traditions and values of some peoples and cultures in favor of others,” Zakharova said.

“I will repeat what Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has just said. The responsibility for the resolution of the migration crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border is born by the West, which provoked it by its actions in the Middle East. And it must be fully resolved in compliance with international humanitarian law,’’ the diplomat said.

The spokeswoman also called on her Polish colleague, instead of lecturing about tensions on the European continent, to deal with ‘’protecting the rights of journalists that are pushed out of border outposts by Polish forces who use aggressive physical censorship including the blocking of mobile and internet connection and sound and flash effects.