Poland names conditions for opening checkpoints on the border with Belarus

Poland makes the opening of border crossings with Belarus dependent on the release of Polish-language journalist Andrzej Poczobut.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said this in an interview with the Zerkalo portal, Yevropeiska Pravda reports citing RMF24.

Radoslaw Sikorski, answering a question about the possibility of opening border crossings (there is currently one in Terespol), reminded that the decision to close the Bobruisk checkpoint was made by the previous Polish government in response to the political trial and conviction of Andrzej Poczobut.

At the same time, he assured that "the date of reopening depends on the duration of Andrzej Poczobut's imprisonment".

The minister noted that the Polish authorities invariably separate ordinary Belarusians from the authorities in Minsk, as evidenced, in particular, by the fact that Belarusian citizens, unlike Russian citizens, can enter Poland in their private cars (a restriction resulting from EU sanctions).

The foreign minister also recalled that when there were no political prisoners in Belarus, Poland took steps to launch small-scale border traffic, but Minsk was not ready for it.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 07/08/2024