Poland-Belarus border crossings to remain closed, Polish official says
There is no “possibility” that Poland will reopen its border checkpoints with Belarus, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on April 19.
On April 5, the Polish Border Guard and Polish media reported that the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border is escalating with “increasing brutality.” Belarus and Russia have repeatedly coordinated the arrival of migrants seeking asylum at the EU’s eastern border.
Siemoniak noted that Poland would like to open the border with Belarus, but said that the border will remain closed as long as Belarus threatens Poland’s border security.
“As long as Belarus behaves this way towards (Poland), I do not see any possibility that anything will change in this area. We would like… for these crossings to be open, for them to function normally,” Siemoniak said.
The Polish official condemned Belarus for sending migrants to Poland’s border and denounced Belarus’s provocations towards Polish border guards.
"(O)n the Belarusian side, we are dealing with the use of migrants, high-profile situations, recently, a uniformed officer threw stones at our border guards, at our cars," he said.
Siemoniak emphasized the need for Poland to protect its border as a member of NATO’s eastern flank and noted the responsibility Warsaw holds to protect the Schengen zone’s external borders.
“This is not only the border of Poland — it is the border of the European Union, the Schengen zone, and NATO,” he said.
The onset of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022 soured relations between Belarus and Western nations due to Minsk’s complacency in Russia’s war.
Poland reported a surge of asylum seekers on its border with Belarus on April 5.
“Tonight there were a lot of attempts to cross the border, probably about 300, all thwarted,” Polish Defense Minister Vladyslav Kosinyak-Kamysh said on April 5.
“It is aimed at attacking Poland, not at trying to find shelter. To cross the border illegally is breaking the law,” he added.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk