Minsk still forcing migrants across Polish border says defence minister

Belarus is still forcing migrants to illegally cross the border with Poland as the Minsk government tries to destabilise its neighbour, the Polish defence minister has said.

Mariusz Blaszczak made the claim after a meeting with his eastern European peers under the Bucharest Nine format on Friday.

"I would like to remind you about the threat resulting from attacks from the Belarusian territory - both against Ukraine and the hybrid attacks against Poland that took place last autumn," Blaszczak said.

"We're still seeing attempts to force people who have been invited to Belarus to illegally cross the border," Blaszczak said. "There's no doubt that this method is meant to destabilise Poland."

Last autumn, Poland struggled to cope with a huge wave of migrants, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, who had been invited by the government of Alexander Lukashenko under the false promise of easy access to the EU. The number of illegal crossings has fallen rapidly since Poland installed a fence along its border with Belarus.