Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have warned that they will completely seal off their borders with Belarus if there are any military incidents or a large-scale migrant influx from the neighboring country. The four NATO and EU members accused Belarus of harboring thousands of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group and facilitating the entry of migrants from the Middle East and Africa into Europe.
The interior ministers of the four countries met in Warsaw on Monday to discuss the growing tensions on their borders with Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia. They issued a joint statement demanding that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko immediately remove the Wagner Group fighters from his territory and return the migrants to their home countries. They also expressed their support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and for the opposition in Belarus.