September 10, Pozirk. Poland’s decision to close its border with Belarus is directed against China, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ told state media journalists today.
According to him, China accounts for almost three-quarters of cargo transit across the Belarusian-Polish border.
He said that about 400,000 tons of Chinese goods enter Poland each month.
“These are the products that Polish consumers are waiting for. These are the goods that go to Polish enterprises and are used as production components. These are the goods that are re-exported by Poland, and the country benefits from this. The decision by [Polish Prime Minister Donald] Tusk is also against Polish entrepreneurs and people. It is against the Polish economy,” he said.
He went on to say that the share of Belarusian goods crossing the border is insignificant because of sanctions. Therefore, Poland’s decision is a blow to China in the first place, and also to Kazakhstan, Russia, and Asian nations, such as Uzbekistan, Japan and South Korea, Ryžankoŭ said. These countries use the Belarusian-Polish route to export their goods to the EU, he said.
“This is also a blow to Western goods shipped along this route, primarily from countries like Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands,” he added.
Ryžankoŭ dismissed claims by Western politicians that the Zapad-2025 exercise is a threat to Poland.
Yesterday, Tusk announced that Warsaw would close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, on September 12 in connection with the Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad-2025, planned for September 12–16. He described the military maneuvers in Belarus as “aggressive.”
The already strained relations between Minsk and Warsaw have deteriorated this month after the arrest of Polish national Grzegorz Gaweł in Lepel, Viciebsk region. A Belarusian propaganda film released on September 4 accused the Carmelite monk of collecting secrets for Polish intelligence about Zapad-2025.
Recent days saw the expulsion of Belarusian diplomats from Czechia, Poland, and Moldova, and a spike in tension between Poland and Russia following the overnight incursion of military drones into Poland.
