{"id":153385,"date":"2025-09-01T19:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/153385\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"minsk-accuses-eu-of-escalating-after-officials-border-visit","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/153385\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk accuses EU of escalating after official\u2019s border visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 1, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Minsk has denounced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen\u2019s visit to Belarus\u2019 neighboring border areas, calling it an escalation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Von der Leyen toured Poland and Lithuania on August 31 and September 1 to discuss increased funding for the protection of the European Union\u2019s eastern frontiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile actors in the East and even across the Atlantic are taking steps to restore peace, those in Brussels use slogans of \u2018common responsibility\u2019 and \u2018defending the democratic world\u2019 to disguise efforts aimed at escalation and the expansion of conflict in our region,\u201d the Belarusian foreign ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk further accused the EU of pursuing \u201can aggressive and overtly militaristic policy,\u201d citing rising military expenditures and attempts to portray Belarus as a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her visit to the Polish-Belarusian border near Krynki in the Podlaskie region, von der Leyen stressed that Europe\u2019s borders are a shared responsibility. She announced that EU member states bordering Russia and Belarus would receive additional funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor years, you and the Polish people have faced deliberate and cynical hybrid attacks,\u201d she said alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. \u201cEurope stands with you in every possible way. We are tripling our investment in migration and border management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tusk reiterated that the migration crisis at the EU\u2019s eastern borders, ongoing since 2021, was a form of hybrid warfare. He accused Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating groups of migrants to put pressure on Polish and European border security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis began in spring 2021 after Belarusian leader Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, angered by EU sanctions, declared that his government would no longer prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from attempting to cross into the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vilnius, Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus\u0117da told von der Leyen that Lithuania requires roughly \u20ac8 billion to strengthen its defenses. He highlighted regional initiatives such as the Baltic Defense Line\u2014planned by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania along their borders with Russia and Belarus\u2014as well as Poland\u2019s Shield-East border security program, designed to counter drone incursions and hybrid threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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