Charge d'affaires of the Belarusian Embassy in Warsaw Alaksandr Czasnouski was summoned to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs - the Polish Press Agency (PAP) informed on Friday. The decision was made in relation to the migrant crisis situation at the Polish-Belarusian border. Polish Border Guard spokesperson said earlier that day Polish soldiers patrolling the area had been shot at with blank rounds by Belarusian officers.
Poland has summoned the Belarusian charge d'affaires Alaksandr Czasnouski over the situation at the border, where there has been a surge in migration, Polish state-run news agency PAP reported, citing sources.
Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) Łukasz Jasina said later on Friday that the Belarusian charge d'affaires was informed about Poland's standpoint regarding incidents at the border, including shots fired at a Border Guard patrol. "We have evidence that they were fired," he added.
Upon leaving Poland's Foreign Ministry, Belarusian diplomat Alaksandr Czasnouski told reporters that the information regarding the shots was false.
MSZ spokesperson told reporters the meeting with Czasnouski was held in an "official fashion". "The charge d'affaires was informed about our standpoint regarding the incidents that have been taking place at the Polish-Belarusian border for quite some time now, as well as about the recent incidents, such as shots fired at a Border Guard patrol," Łukasz Jasina said.
Asked about Czasnouski's comment on the information about the shots being false, Jasina said: "We have evidence that these shots were indeed fired, otherwise various statements would not have been issued".
He also declared that "if the need be, this evidence will be presented to the Belarusian side, but not only to them of course, but also to public opinion, and other countries".
Poland has imposed a state of emergency on the Belarusian border amid a surge in migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq trying to cross, in what Brussels and Warsaw say is a form of hybrid warfare designed to put pressure on the bloc over sanctions it imposed on Minsk.
In August, Poland began building a barbed wire fence along its border with Belarus to curb illegal border crossings despite criticism that some migrants were being treated inhumanely. Poland plans to strengthen its border with a system of motion sensors and cameras, modelling it on the Greek border with Turkey, its interior minister has said.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Wojciech Olkuśnik/PAP