Lukashenko says he wants to 'regulate' relations with Poland

Lukashenko made the announcement at a meeting with graduates of military universities, held in Minsk on Tuesday. 

He said he was ready to "regulate relations between Belarus, Poland and Lithuania, yet for now he does not see reciprocity."

Therefore, he argued, Belarus must remain vigilant and ready to defend itself in the north-western and western directions.

Poland has seen increasing illegal migration attempts at its border with Belarus since 2021, when Lukashenko, decided to retaliate for EU sanctions on Minsk by mounting migration pressure on the EU. To this end, Belarus invited thousands of migrants to the country under a false promise of easy access to the EU across the Polish and Lithuanian borders.

On Monday, the Belarusian foreign minister, Maksim Ryzhenkov, said that Belarus was ready for dialogue with Poland over the migration problem at the border between the two countries. But, he added, Poland had not reacted to the Belarusian proposal but instead started to "make political demands," which Minsk considers "unacceptable."

The Belarusian independent website Nasha Niva wrote that the possible suspension of the flow of goods across the border with Poland is "the main instrument of pressure from Poland on the Belarusian authorities". According to the website, Poland is trying to stop the migration crisis on the border and bring about the release of Polish minority activist and journalist Andrzej Poczobut imprisoned in Belarus.

Nasha Niva also wrote that the issue of border tensions had been raised by Polish President Andrzej Duda during his recent visit to China. Later Poland sent a signal to Belarus in the form of extremely thorough checks at the Malaszewicze terminal at the border with Belarus, which is important especially for the transport of Chinese goods. 

According to the website, in subsequent days the number of migrants trying to force their way across the border decreased. (PAP)
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