MFA spokesperson: I don't have any positive news on Andrzej Poczobut

After one year in detention, the chairwoman of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andżelika Borys was released last Friday (March 25). Borys had been detained in Grodno on March 23 last year, for organising a cultural event Grodzieńskie Kaziuki, which the Belarusian authorities deemed illegal.

Borys had been sentenced for 15 days behind bars, but later she was also accused of inciting hatred against nationality and religion, as well as spreading unrest on the grounds of national, religious, and linguistic affiliation. According to the prosecutor's office, Borys was accused of having been "promoting nazism", which carries a prison sentence up to 15 years. Two days after detaining Borys, Belarusian authorities also arrested another prominent Polish activist and journalist Andrzej Poczobut.

Asked at a press conference on Tuesday about Andżelika Borys's condition and the situation of Andrzej Poczobut, Polish MFA spokesperson Łukasz Jasina said that information about the latter's release was "fake news". "Although our hearts did skip a beat in hope that maybe Andrzej was released, at least in such incomplete way like Andżelika Borys, who has been placed in home arrest," he admitted.

He added that after what Borys had experienced, it was much better to be "at least in home arrest at home at her mom's place, than in the prison for women, a very tough and hard place". "At the moment Andżelika Borys remains at home. She's resting and trying to regain energy after what she's been through. We're hoping that she will gather enough strenght to be able to participate in as many activities as possible," the MFA spokesman said.

"Unfortunately, I can't say anything positive regarding Andrzej Poczobut," he added, assuring that the ministry was doing its best to help reunite the Polish activist with his family.

"That's the kind of regime it is - we all know what it's like. This stroke of luck, which the release of Andżelika Borys is, should not forget the essence of the Belarusian regime hasn't changed completely and that it can be ruthless even to those who supported it willingly, like Mr Emil Czeczko for example," Jasina said.

The spokesperson was also asked about the proposal to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine and that country president's opinion on this matter.

In an interview for Russian independent media on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy was asked about Poland's ruling party chief Jarosław Kaczyński's idea to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, to which he replied that it was Poland's proposal and that he did not fully understood it. "I explained at a meeting with Polish colleagues that we don't need a frozen conflict on the territory of our country," Zelenskiy stressed.

Jasina said that the "in its entirety this interview is a bit more complicated". "We fully agree with president Zelenskiy and his interpretation of this matter, as we also don't want this conflict to last for long, to be frozen, or not be able to save the Ukrainian people from it," he said.

He added at the same that deputy PM Kaczyński's proposal "remains at our Ukrainian friends' discretion". "We are at Ukraine's disposal, to its decisions, requests, and conclusions in that regard. Should our Ukrainian friends be interested in this plan, we remain available; same thing goes for our allies," Jasina stressed.

"In that regard, we are the servants of the Ukrainian nation and its requests," the spokesman added.

Asked if Poland was not backing out of this idea, Jasina replied: "Many things can happen in the future, and many ideas may prove either more, or less useful".