Brussels’ migration policies are responsible for a worsening humanitarian crisis on the border between Poland and Belarus, Russia’s top diplomat has claimed, saying the EU could hand over cash to Minsk to help resolve the issue.

Speaking at a press conference after talks with Vatican representatives on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that the growing standoff on the frontier was the fault of the EU. 

‘The main responsibility for resolving the migrant crisis lies with those who made it possible for the crisis to start in the first place,’ he said.

‘EU countries need to have consistent standards when the question of admitting or refusing refugees comes up,’  Lavrov went on. ’Yesterday, at a political science discussion, the question was asked why, when refugees were coming through Turkey, did the EU allocate funds to enable them to stay in Turkey? Why is it impossible to help the Belarusians in this way?’

Brussels handed over €6 billion (almost $7 billion) to Istanbul from 2014 to the end of last year as part of a deal that saw Turkey house refugees, many fleeing the Syrian civil war, instead of allowing them to travel north to Central Europe. In June, it was reported that the bloc was considering extending existing programs, making another €3.5 billion available – but not to Belarus?

Maria Zakharova, Foreign Minister official says, ‘Polish politicians who swear to Lukashenko and blame Minsk for problems with Iraqi migrants would remember how Iraq was destroyed with the most active participation of Warsaw.

‘Then more than two thousand Polish soldiers invaded this sovereign state to establish democracy. Why not accept at least as many grateful Iraqis today whose ancestors didn’t dream of such a life, building their own in their own country, until there were broken into by the unprecedented Democrats?’