France's Top Diplomat Accuses Belarusian Leader Of Hostage-Taking Amid Migration Crisis

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a dictator and accused him of hostage-taking amid the Belarusian-Polish border crisis

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2021) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a dictator and accused him of hostage-taking amid the Belarusian-Polish border crisis.

The diplomat stressed in an interview with the Le Monde newspaper that he does not comment on any statements about Russia's alleged links to the border issue but noted that Moscow and Belarus have "close ties."

"In this regard, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin should be able to appeal to Lukashenko to halt this vile and criminal initiative. This is a hostage situation. Lukashenko is used to this. It was him who arranged plane hijackings, suppressed the population, stole the elections.

This is a dictator," Le Drian said.

The international community should address the "instrumentalization of migrants by the dictator" as a "cynical provocation," show solidarity with EU nations who have become "victims of manipulation" in the ongoing crisis, he added.

"The situation requires new sanctions against Minsk," Le Drian said.

Thousands of migrants have amassed along the border between Belarus and Poland on the Belarusian side in an attempt to force their way into the EU. Poland in response deployed more border troops to the area and blamed the migration crisis on Minsk, which consistently denies the allegation.