Minsk reiterates readiness for border talks with Warsaw
July 15, Pozirk. Minsk is ready to discuss the migration crisis with Warsaw, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ has told journalists.
The statement comes weeks after his Polish counterpart said Warsaw might shut the border for cargo traffic and days after Beijing urged the two countries to resolve their differences through dialogue.
Minsk can secure good-neighborly relations with Poland by releasing jailed journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut) and ending its security forces’ involvement in trafficking migrants through the border, Radosław Sikorski said on June 22.
“The ball is on the Polish side,” BelTA quoted Ryžankoŭ as saying. “We are open to dialogue and the president [Łukašenka] is also ready, but, apparently, the Polish side is not very interested in solving this issue. Probably, it plans to continue escalating tension on the border.”
Poland takes “totally hectic and random” action, causing inconvenience to cargo operators, mostly Polish ones, as well as humanitarian problems for people crossing the border, among them children, Ryžankoŭ said in an apparent reference to recent traffic disruptions.
On July 10, the Belarusian State Customs Committee said Poland stopped processing heavy trucks coming from Belarus at the only checkpoint that handled cargo traffic between the countries.
A Polish customs official denied traffic suspension but admitted that it slowed down because of closer inspection of goods.
Earlier, Poland suspended freight traffic through the Małaszewicze terminal for 33 hours. Chinese transits account for the major proportion of the terminal operations.
Ryžankoŭ also denied Warsaw’s accusations that Belarusian security officers were involved in human trafficking.
“If you know where these camps are located [where migrants are reportedly trained for illegal border crossings], if you know Belarusian law enforcers who are in charge – do come here and indicate any site in Belarus, and we will provide you with access to debunk these fakes,” he said. “However, the Polish side refused this proposal.”
Warsaw’s political demands linked to tensions at the border are unacceptable for Minsk, the diplomat stressed, in a reference to the demand for the release of Pačobut.
Belarusian authorities invite European Union’s representatives and organizations to observe the situation at the border, discuss and outline solutions, Ryžankoŭ said.
In a few weeks, Minsk is planning a “large briefing with the participation of law enforcement agencies and international organizations” to discuss illegal migration at the Belarusian-Polish border, he added.
The migration crisis at the Belarus-EU border started in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent migrants from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.
Belarus’ western neighbors call the migration crisis a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.
Tensions on the border escalated this spring with the spike in illegal border crossings and attacks on Polish border guards by people trying to cross the border illegally. One of them resulted in the death of Polish soldier Mateusz Sitek, stabbed at the border with Belarus.
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