Lukashenko: Belarus helped refugees and migrants cross into EU

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced it was "absolutely possible" his forces helped refugees and migrants cross into Poland, but denied they had been invited. 

"I think that's absolutely possible. We're Slavs. We have hearts. Our troops know the migrants are going to Germany," Lukashenko told the BBC in an interview on Friday.

"Maybe someone helped them. I won't even look into this."

The West has accused Belarus of artificially creating the crisis by bringing in would-be migrants from abroad and taking them to the border with promises of an easy crossing into the European Union.

Belarus has denied the claim, instead criticising the EU for not taking in the migrants.

"I told them I'm not going to detain migrants on the border, hold them at the border, and if they keep coming from now on I still won't stop them, because they're not coming to my country, they're going to yours," he said.

READ MORE: Poland detains scores of migrants as hundreds attempt to cross EU border

Hundreds try to cross Polish border

Polish border guards said on Thursday that that hundreds of migrants and refugees had again tried to breach its border with Belarus.

The guards said they had detained 45 migrants.

However, there were signs of the crisis easing after Belarusian state news agency Belta reported 2,000 migrants had left a makeshift encampment on the freezing border to spend the night in a nearby warehouse.

Belta published photos of the migrants lying on mats in the facility and wrote that "for several it was their first warm night".

Also, hundreds of Iraqis who had failed to cross into the EU from Belarus returned home on Thursday on the first repatriation flight organised by Baghdad.

READ MORE: Iraqis return home after deadlock at Poland-Belarus border