September 22, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka has slammed Poland’s closure of its border with Belarus as an unfriendly move towards China during his meeting in Minsk with Li Xi, a high-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I realize that this is most likely an unfriendly move by the Poles, a political one against the People’s Republic of China or perhaps [a move designed] to boost their image, as the Poles believe,” his press office quoted him as saying. “But it is by no means an economic move because an empire like China will easily cope with this problem.”
“Poland is acting like a show horse for the benefit of other countries,” Łukašenka added.
Warsaw closed the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, on September 12 in connection with the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad-2025 from September 12 to 16. The border will remain closed until further notice due to concerns over the safety of Polish citizens, the Polish interior ministry noted after the drill was over.
Warsaw does not benefit from the border closure but prioritizes security over trade benefits, Polish foreign ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński said following Polish-Chinese talks three days after the closure.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ criticized Poland’s decision, claiming it targeted China, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the cargo transit across the Belarusian-Polish border.
The already strained relations between Minsk and Warsaw have deteriorated this month after the arrest of Polish national Grzegorz Gaweł in Lepel, Viciebsk region, the expulsion of a Belarusian diplomat from Poland and a spike in tension between Poland and Russia following an unprecedented incursion of military drones into Poland.
