Foreign ministry blasts Poland for halting cargo traffic at border

June 1, BPN. The foreign ministry in Minsk has criticized Poland for halting cargo transportation by trucks, trailers and semi-trailers registered in Belarus or Russia at its border checkpoints.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński signed an ordinance to this effect shortly after the Belarusian Supreme Court upheld the prison sentence given to Andrej Pačobut, a journalist and Polish minority activist.

A spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anatol Hłaz, described the move as disregard for freedom of movement. He claimed that all ethnic minorities “live in peace and harmony” in his country, and pledged an “asymmetric response.”