MOSCOW, Reuters – Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus told migrants stranded on the Poles’ border that he would allow them to go home if they so desired but not forcibly.

Lukashenko told a site visit that he would help those who wanted to return to their homeland, “For those people who are determined to do so,” Lukashenko added. We won’t force you. You have the right to do this.

Lukashenko was accused by the European Union, of intentionally provoking a humanitarian emergency at its eastern border. He told migrants that he wouldn’t play politics with their fate.

He said, “If you wish to travel westwards we will not detain, choke, or beat you.” You can decide what you want. Follow the instructions. Go.”

He stated that the problem of the migrant crisis would only grow if it wasn’t solved immediately.

Belta reported that Lukashenko, his first public visit to the border since the outbreak of crisis, visited the facility feeding migrants.

Lukashenko criticized Belarus’s EU neighbors, saying to the crowd, “We will make everything you want, even if it’s not good for the Poles or the Latvians.”

He said, “We will not in any circumstance detain or tie you hands and load your on planes to fly you home if that is what you want.”

European Union accuses Belarus of bringing in thousands from the Middle East to force them into the bloc. This is in response to EU sanctions that were imposed last year over Lukashenko’s suppression of protests. Belarus refutes this accusation.

Belarus began to send some migrants home but said that it was waiting for an EU answer on whether they would accept the 2,000 who were left at their border.

Lukashenko claimed Monday that Belarus demanded that Germany take in migrants. The EU did not make contact with Minsk about the issue.

Streit between Russia, EU and Ukraine has been exacerbated by the standoff. Their ties are at their lowest post-Cold War level since Moscow’s annexation in 2014 of Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Belarus’s most recent dispute with the EU. He helped Lukashenko overcome mass street protests following last year’s election.