Kurdish Groups Engaged in Transporting Migrants to Europe, Russian Security Council Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Groups that are engaged in transporting migrants to Europe via Belarus include many Kurds, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has said, adding that the movement of migrants from the Polish border zone to Germany is well-organized.

"The focus of migrants is on Germany, because the benefits paid here to refugees are 4-5 times higher than they earn in their home countries," Patrushev told the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

The council’s secretary added that many Kurds have joined groups that transport migrants to Europe.

"Using transit via Belarus has become a lucrative and highly cynical business [for them]," Patrushev said, adding that business to transport migrants from the Polish border zone to Germany is "well organized."

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-Polish border can be viewed as a result of external pressure on Minsk, Nikolai Patrushev added.

"What is happening today on the Belarusian-Polish border can also be regarded as a result of external pressure on Belarus. They failed to destroy the country's leadership, plunge the country into chaos, into protest marches, now they are trying to flood the state with migrants, undermine the social protection and health care system," Patrushev said, adding that Europe needs to counter migrant transportation business instead of giving advises to Minsk.

The well-organized migration flow to Belarus became possible thanks to visa-free policy of Minsk, Russian Security Council Secretary said.

"According to the information we have, recently a well-organized influx of migrants has been going on to Belarus using the possibilities of a visa-free regime, primarily from Iraq and Syria, as well as from Afghanistan, Libya and some other countries," Patrushev said.

Migrants located at the Belarusian-Polish border became hostages of the situation created by the West, Patrushev added.

"Belarus is a sovereign state that decides for itself with whom and for how long it should introduce a visa-free regime. Minsk has its own priorities in foreign and domestic policy," the official said, when discussing calls from West to Belarus to cancel the visa-free policy.

Russia and Belarus will continue to adequately respond to provocations near borders of the Union State, Patrushev said.

"Together with Minsk, we will continue to adequately respond to provocations, including military ones, near the borders of the Union State," Patrushev added.