The number of migrants camped out on the Belarusian side of Poland’s eastern border has fallen, a tentative sign of a de-escalation in the monthslong confrontation between the European Union and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Officials from Poland’s Interior Ministry say Belarusian officials have sent buses to collect people from the sprawling tent city along Poland’s border. Belarusian officials confirmed that they provided buses to move some migrants away from the border and would be giving them shelter in warehouses.

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The number of migrants camped out on the Belarusian side of Poland’s eastern border has fallen, a tentative sign of a de-escalation in the monthslong confrontation between the European Union and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Officials from Poland’s Interior Ministry say Belarusian officials have sent buses to collect people from the sprawling tent city along Poland’s border. Belarusian officials confirmed that they provided buses to move some migrants away from the border and would be giving them shelter in warehouses.

Polish officials said Wednesday that the number of migrants attempting to cross from Belarusian territory into Poland has fallen.

“We are observing that foreigners camped on the Belarusian side in close proximity to the border point…packed their stuff and are leaving the camp,” Poland’s border guard said in a tweet.

Any reduction of the tension at the border isn’t likely to ease the broader tensions between Belarus and the EU. The EU has accused Mr. Lukashenko of encouraging thousands of Middle Eastern and African migrants to try to enter the EU from its eastern flank as retribution for a series of sanctions the bloc has imposed on Minsk.

Poland is concerned that the tensions will continue for some time with both Belarus and Russia, which has strongly backed Mr. Lukashenko’s confrontation with the West.

More than 160 people attempted to cross the Polish border and enter EU territory on Tuesday, down from 224 attempts the day before, according to data published Wednesday by Poland’s border authorities.

On Tuesday, Polish border guards used water cannons to disperse crowds trying to get across. The largest group attempting to enter Polish territory was around 60 people, who cut through a wire fence with help from Belarusian border personnel. Polish border guards pushed them back.

“Yesterday was a very nervous day,” Poland’s Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik told pro-government broadcaster Republika TV on Wednesday.

Migrants in a tent camp near the Bruzgi, Belarus, checkpoint on the Polish border on Wednesday.

Photo: Leonid Shcheglov/Zuma Press

Even as some migrants leave the border, Polish officials are preparing for a protracted period of tension at its eastern border.

Warsaw has stationed more than 15,000 troops on its border with Belarus, while Lithuania and Latvia—the other two EU countries neighboring Belarus—have sent troops to their own frontiers. Together, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania have declared a state of emergency across hundreds of square miles that border with Belarus, where police now stop cars at checkpoints and check for migrants.

Wednesday’s developments came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a nearly hourlong call with Mr. Lukashenko on Monday, the same day French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier

Thousands of migrants massed at the eastern border of the European Union in early November, some cutting razor wire and attempting to climb over fences between Belarus and Poland. Polish troops were mobilized to prevent them from crossing. Photo: Leonid Shcheglov/Zuma Press The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Ms. Merkel’s call wasn’t coordinated with Poland, nor with Latvia or Lithuania, said diplomats from the three countries, who said they learned of it only on the day the call occurred. On Wednesday, Ms. Merkel held another call with Mr. Lukashenko to discuss the border situation.

Polish officials are worried Germany will negotiate with Mr. Lukashenko without consulting them and accommodate a leader Europe had broadly agreed to isolate. On Wednesday, Poland’s president,

Andrzej Duda, said that he had called his German counterpart to complain about Ms. Merkel’s call.

“Poland will not recognize any agreements reached over our heads,” Mr. Duda said. “We are a sovereign state that has the right to make decisions for itself and we will absolutely enforce this right.”

German officials viewed the call as a chance to de-escalate a crisis that has risked igniting a military confrontation on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance, according to European officials. Thousands of U.S. and NATO troops are based along the border regions of Poland and its neighbors, in what Washington sees as a tripwire to deter Russia from crossing into the EU.

Next month, Poland will begin construction of a 18-foot, 100-mile-long wall of steel columns topped with razor wire across its eastern border. High-tech motion sensors and CCTV cameras will line the barrier.

“It’s a high priority, for the security of citizens and their country,” Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Monday.