Belarusian reaction to death of Polish soldier 'unsatisfactory,' says FM

2024-06-17 14:26 update: 2024-06-18, 14:42
Photo PAP/Pawel Supernak
Photo PAP/Pawel Supernak
Poland’s foreign minister has said that the Belarusian side is not cooperating in the search for the killer of a Polish soldier who was stabbed by a person attempting to enter Polish territory through the country’s border with Belarus.

During a press conference on Monday Radoslaw Sikorski announced that a diplomatic note containing demands for the Belarusian authorities to determine the identity of the killer and convey it to the Polish side, had been referred to the country’s chargé d'affaires.

According to Sikorski, the response from Belarus was entirely "unsatisfactory."

He said: "Instead of searching for the killer and handing him over to us, (they responded with - PAP) accusations about Poland supposedly ceasing cooperation between Border Guards (of both countries - PAP)."

In Sikorski’s opinion, it is just another lie from Belarus.

"Unfortunately, we do not expect good cooperation from the Belarusian side," he added.

The 21-year-old Polish soldier died after being stabbed during an intervention at the country’s border with Belarus on May 28 by a person attempting to breach the fence and enter Polish territory. 

Poland has been dealing with a gradually escalating crisis at its eastern border due to organised transporting of migrants and refugees to the region by the Belarusian government in a move to retaliate for EU sanctions on Minsk by imposing increased migration pressure on Poland and Lithuania, and in turn - the EU.
Each day hundreds of people try to cross the Polish-Belarussian border in the hope of entering the EU, as a result they end up stranded on the border without appropriate living conditions. (PAP)
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