Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko said Friday he had ordered “contact” with Poland and that he was ready to talk amid rising border tensions between the NATO member and Moscow ally.
Last week, Poland said two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace and detained a Belarusian man on suspicion of being part of a “Russian spy ring.”
Relations between Minsk and Warsaw, frozen for years, have hit new lows since Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine.
Tensions further escalated when Minsk became a new base for fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, with Poland saying this was a security threat and strengthening border defence.
“We need to talk to the Poles. I ordered the prime minister to contact them,” Lukashenko said, according to state news agency Belta.
“We are neighbours and you don’t chose our neighbours.”
The unusual comment came a day after Warsaw announced it would send 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus.
“They have parliamentary elections on October 15, of course they need to escalate the situation... to show that they have properly armed (Poland),” Lukashenko said.
The EU member has warned of “provocations” involving the Wagner group, which Lukashenko is hosting after their failed mutiny in Russia.
While on a trip to Saint Petersburg last month, Lukashenko sitting next to Putin, joked that Wagner fighters are “asking to go West, ask for permission... to go on a trip to Warsaw, to Rzeszow.”
Belarusian Democratic Opposition Leader Meets with NATO Chief
Poland has become a hub for thousands of Belarusians who have fled their homeland, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994.
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Comments (4)
The story misses a key point...Lukashenkobitch doesn't do anything without putins OK. Headline should read putin orders lukashenko to talk to poland. Lukashenko sends his appointed pm instead.
There was no coup, it was all a theatre performance to get Wagner into Belarus. Supposedly threatening Poland is a ruse, regardless of Ukraine's significant defences they're going to attempt to sneak into Ukraine and attack Kyiv. Putin's a moron, he hides like a coward and sends forces his citizens to die for his idiotic goals. Eventually, a sensible Russian (is that an oxymoron?) will find the courage and plan to assassinate him. When that happens, Russia will actually begin to flourish.
There is no real danger of Belarus attacking Poland. However, there is a danger of Wagner attacking NW Ukraine, in an attempt to sever the land-route of supplies from Poland. That was the reason for the bizarre suggestion by Lukashenko that there was a danger of Poland seizing NW Ukraine, to allow him to do so for "pro-active defensive reasons".
Belarus would be neutralized in less than a week if it attacks a NATO country, and Lukashenko would be dead. Wagner doesn't understand real power, only it's ground game of sending in mass brainless soldiers to die. It's clear that Lukashenko knows this and is trying to ease Poland's position, but it reality, you just can't fix stupid!