Warsaw offered the official Minsk to stop the repressions in exchange for “space for political and economic maneuver”, but the negotiations did not bring results. This was announced today, April 13, by Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.
“Our long-term goal is a democratic, free and independent Belarus”, – declared and added that Poland will not be safe until its neighbors are sovereign, able to determine their direction of development in a democratic way.
In his opinion, “there is no doubt that the place of Belarusians is in the common European home.” At the same time, Rau noted that Warsaw would consistently seek “a European future for Belarusians, providing temporary shelter to everyone who cannot feel safe in Belarus for political convictions.” He also noted that Poland offered the Belarusian authorities to stop the repressions, but the negotiations did not yield results.
“Some time ago, we sent a proposal to the Belarusian authorities aimed at increasing the space for political maneuver and also economic maneuver in exchange for an end to repression and persecution. Unfortunately, these negotiations did not bring a satisfactory result.” – said the Polish minister.
The head of the Foreign Ministry noted that the Belarusian authorities continue to repress their own citizens and continue to pursue a hostile policy towards Poland.
“One of the elements is the regime-provoked Alexandra Lukashenko border crisis. Such a policy will have consequences for our relations.” he warned.
Rau also noted that Poland’s policy will change only after “democratic changes” in Belarus, which will allow the country to participate in the Eastern Partnership initiative.
“Therefore, Poland supports and will continue to support the Belarusian independent environment, including the media, Belarusian refugees, students and entrepreneurs,” Rau said, adding that Warsaw would seek the release of political prisoners, including Andrzej Pochobut.
In addition, Rau stressed that if the Belarusian authorities refuse to release Poczobut, continue repressions and “provoke attacks of migrants at the border”, Warsaw will seek additional sanctions in the EU, as well as use “the full range of repressions at the disposal of Poland.”
Recall that relations between Warsaw and Minsk deteriorated after an unsuccessful coup attempt in Belarus in August 2020. The Belarusian authorities accused the Polish side of contributing to mass unrest in the republic. In turn, Warsaw considers Alexander Lukashenko an illegitimate head of state and supports his opponents. After the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, relations between the countries were practically frozen.
