Poland considers suspending goods transport through Belarus.

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Poland is considering suspending the transportation of goods through Belarus if relations between the countries do not "normalize," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said on July 22 in an interview with Radio Zet. Warsaw has also long accused Belarus of deliberately pushing migrants into Poland to pressure the EU over sanctions since 2021. Poland's relations with Russian ally Belarus have deteriorated further after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Poland has specific conditions for Belarus if it would like to normalize relations, such as the end of hybrid attacks, the release of the killer of a Polish soldier, the release of imprisoned Poles," Szejna said.

The deputy minister said that if these conditions are not met, Poland can stop transporting goods through Belarus, despite the fact that it will be "an unfavorable decision" for the Polish government. Poland is seriously considering this decision, and Belarus is aware of it, he added. Subscribe to the Newsletter

Belarus Weekly

Szejna also said that Belarus openly cooperates with Russia and is hostile to Ukraine, which is why "Polish options for action against such a state are limited."

One of the conditions for restoring relations with Belarus is the extradition of the migrant who killed a Polish border guard, as Szejna mentioned. The guard was stabbed with a makeshift spear through the border fence between Poland and Belarus on May 28. The attack was reportedly carried out by a migrant who was attempting to cross the border illegally.

In late June, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania called on the European Union to build a line of defense along the bloc's border with Russia and Belarus to protect the EU from military threats and other harmful actions from Moscow.

The leaders of the four countries, all of which share a border with Russia and three of them with Belarus, drafted a letter to Brussels detailing the scale and cost of the project.

Chinese military personnel arrive in Belarus for joint exercises

The exercises aim to "exchange experience, coordinate Belarusian and Chinese units, and create a foundation for the further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint training of troops," according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry.