Pavel Latushka called on the Polish side to pay attention to the importance of maintaining people-to-people contacts and supporting the European orientation of Belarusians

The decision taken by the Polish government to close all border crossings on the Belarusian-Polish border was the subject of a meeting between the Deputy Head of Pavel Latushka’s Cabinet and the Speaker of the Coordination Council, Artsiom Brukhan, and the Special Representative of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs for cooperation with the Belarusian democratic forces, Adam Hałaciński.

Pavel Latushka emphasized that the United Transitional Cabinet advocates for increasing pressure on the Lukashenka regime, including economic pressure, in order to force the regime to change its repressive domestic and aggressive foreign policies. At the same time, it is important for the Cabinet to preserve the possibility for Belarusians to travel to EU countries.

While acknowledging Poland’s position of making decisions in the interests of national security, Pavel Latushka also drew the Polish side’s attention to the importance of maintaining people-to-people contacts and supporting Belarusians’ European orientation.

Adam Hałaciński noted that the closure of border crossings is connected with security and the implementation of preventive measures in connection with the risks arising from the "Zapad-2025" military exercises. The Polish MFA representative asked for understanding of the situation and stressed that this decision is not intended to harm the public interests of either Belarusian or Polish citizens.

Nevertheless, at present the Polish side’s position is that border traffic on the Belarusian-Polish border will be restored only when there is confidence that the safety of Polish citizens is guaranteed and that there will be no risk of provocations or possible aggressive actions against Poland.

In response to a question about how the Polish side would act in the event of the need to cross the border for humanitarian purposes, the MFA representative noted that the decision lies exclusively within the competence of the Polish Ministry of Interior.

Special attention was given to the issue of political prisoners in Belarus. It was emphasized that their release is one of the key demands of the democratic movement and international partners. Attention was drawn to possible mechanisms of support and assistance from Poland in the event of the release of large groups of political prisoners, including humanitarian and social assistance.

The situation around the "Zapad-2025" military exercises, which raise concern in the region, was also discussed, as well as the recent violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones coming from Belarus.

It was noted that it is precisely the external aggressive policy of the dictator that leads to the necessity of applying corresponding restrictive measures to ensure security.

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