Warsaw may compensate businesses for Belarus border closure – minister

September 12, Pozirk. Warsaw may consider compensating Polish industry for losses caused by the closure of the border with Belarus, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński has told journalists.

He made that statement last night at the Terespol-Brest border checkpoint, which Polish authorities closed in connection with the Zapad-2025 drill in Belarus, involving Russian troops, that started today and is scheduled to draw to a close on September 16.

Businesses may be affected by border closure, yet the safety of the Polish citizens is the government’s priority, he said.

Kierwiński stressed that border closure is not directly linked to the Zapad-2025 timeframe. Cross-border traffic will resume only when Warsaw is fully confident that there are no threats, he noted in apparent reference to the recent incident involving unprecedented Russian drone incursions.

Recently, Russia has been displaying aggressive behavior towards Poland with the Zapad-2025 maneuvers directly aimed against both Poland and the European Union, the minister said, noting that Russian and Belarusian armies practice aggressive scenarios against Poland.

Yesterday, Poland and Latvia temporarily restricted flights along their eastern borders ahead of the drill that is expected to involve around 8,000 troops in Belarus, including 2,000 Russians. Minsk has not disclosed the number of participants.

Earlier this week, Lithuania announced additional measures to beef up security at its borders with Belarus and Russia during the exercise.