{"id":205238,"date":"2026-09-25T17:05:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205238\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T17:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T14:05:06","slug":"polish-fm-fears-russia-preparing-for-something-big-may-draw-belarus-in","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/205238\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish FM fears Russia preparing for something big, may draw Belarus in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 25, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Polish Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski, speaking at a public meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on September 24, expressed concern that Russia is preparing \u201cfor something big\u201d this year and may draw Belarus into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to his meeting with Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ry\u017eanko\u016d earlier this week, he noted that Belarusians are deeply concerned that they may be dragged into a war, Poland\u2019s PAP<\/em> news agency reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said his concern was based on information from multiple sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also believe that public opinion exists even in dictatorships, and I believe that [Vladimir] Putin needs an excuse for mobilization. That is why they can launch a false flag operation to tell the Russians: \u2018We have been attacked, and therefore we must mobilize,\u2019\u201d Sikorski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He speculated that Russia might try to seize by force a corridor through Lithuania connecting Belarus with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what they will do, but we must be ready to contain them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sikorski said Russia was unlikely to risk a full-scale attack on the EU. Instead, it might launch a less overt operation designed to make it more difficult for NATO to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sikorski made the remarks two days after his first meeting with the Belarusian foreign minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the prospects for normalizing bilateral relations, Sikorski compared them to \u201ca snowdrop that can bloom under favorable conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described the meeting as an initial step, noting that contacts were also taking place between other agencies and at other levels. He said Poland would soon open a new embassy building in Minsk and was ready to improve relations if Belarus showed a willingness to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sides also reportedly focused on regional security. Asked whether he had urged the Belarusian side not to allow Russia to launch drones and missiles from Belarusian territory, Sikorski replied, \u201camong other things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Polish diplomat said the meeting could mark a new phase in Polish-Belarusian relations, pointing to improvements along the shared border after about a decade without ministerial-level contacts. In particular, he highlighted the release of jailed Belarusian dissidents, including Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut (Andrzej Poczobut).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relations between Belarus and Poland deteriorated significantly following Pa\u010dobut\u2019s imprisonment but have recently shown signs of warming. These include Pa\u010dobut\u2019s recent trip to Belarus, Poland\u2019s reopening of previously closed border crossings and a significant decline in irregular migration via Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk has supported Moscow in its war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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