FM: the ball is on Poland’s side, Belarus ready for dialogue
Warsaw's actions bring nothing but huge problems to carriers, among which there are mostly Polish ones, and humanitarian problems to citizens who cross the border (including children and large families) – as stated by Belarus’ Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov when commenting on the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border in his talk with journalists
Answering the question about a destructive position of the Polish side on resolving the problematic situation on the border, the Foreign Minister noted, “These actions bring nothing but huge problems to carriers, among which there are mostly Polish ones, and humanitarian problems to citizens, including children and large families, who cross the border. We have always been committed to building neighbourly approaches and cross-border co-operation, and have been always offering the Polish side co-operation on the border-related issues in line with these approaches, but – under various pretexts – Poland is evading the implementation of our proposals.”
Mr. Ryzhenkov reminded, “Not long ago, our President suggested to the Polish side (the Charge d'Affaires of Poland in Belarus was informed on that position) that the republic is ready to welcome any Polish delegation, any Polish experts, specialists and representatives of the leadership in order to look at the situation on the border together. You probably remember how they [in Poland] talked a lot about the allegedly existing camps in Belarus where refugees and migrants are being trained so that they can later use force at the border to cross it. Our Head of State said: if you know where these camps are located, if you know someone in the Belarusian law enforcement agencies who is engaged in such actions, then come and show us: we will allow access to any point for you and your specialists, and the fakes will then be destroyed. The Polish side refused that offer. Moreover, some political proposals began to be put forward, which ‘should become the basis for a visit’. Naturally, we consider this situation unacceptable, it is not in the spirit of developing good-neighbourly cross-border and generally good relations. In turn, we are offering other organisations, representatives of the EU countries who stay here, assistance with regard to all border-related issues: they are welcome to come, see and discuss everything.”
The Foreign Minister reported, “Closer to autumn, we will organise a large and serious briefing on this topic, with the presence of representatives of law enforcement agencies and international organisations, whom we will invite. I would like to remind you that, two years ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Felipe Gonzalez Morales, visited Belarus at our invitation, and he then recognised our position to a certain extent correct and assessed our readiness for dialogue and negotiations as adequate. In addition, it was he who noted in his report a number of problematic issues on the Polish side: the ousting of migrants, violation of their rights, inhumane treatment of women and children at the border.”
Mr. Ryzhenkov summarised, “The ball is on the Polish side. We are ready for dialogue, and the President is in tune for it. But, apparently, the Polish side is not very interested in resolving this issue, and its plans include the continuation of tension escalation on the border. As you can see, huge sums of money are being allocated to strengthen the border. Someone is probably interested in spending money in this way, solving issues not by constructive means, but by creating a new iron curtain. As our President likes to say, when such huge sums are allocated for unclear purposes, new corruption scandals will follow.”
