Polish president meets expelled ambassador

Leszek Szerepka (left) with President Komorowski: photo - PAP/Jacek Turczyk

The Belarusian authorities expelled the diplomat in retaliation for new EU sanctions being imposed on those associated with the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko this week.

Ambassador Szerepka returned to Poland on Wednesday as the EU announced that all its envoys will now be pulled out of the country.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Donald Tusk is in Brussels, Thursday, for a two-day EU summit where more sanctions against Belarus will be discussed.

Opposition Law and Justice (PiS) MP and former deputy foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski, however, told Polish Radio this morning that Prime Minister Tusk is responsible for the poor relations between Belarus and Poland.

The vice-chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee said that there has been no consistency in Polish foreign policy towards Belarus, especially when it comes to the democratic opposition and support of the Union of Poles in Belarus, which represents the Polish minority in the country but is not recognised by President Lukashenko.

The Law and Justice MP also criticized the failure by Tusk's government to create a united front of countries in the region against the Lukashenko regime.

"We did not succeed, because we are at odds with Lithuania, and we also failed to draw Slovenia into the united front," Witold Waszczykowski said., referring to Slovenia blocking proposed sanctions against a Belarusian businessman who has significant investments in the Balkan nation, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers this week

On Wednesday, the Belarus Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying: “Brussels and the capitals of the European Union should not forget that tactics of intimidation do not work on Belarus. Under conditions of unilateral pressure, the normalization of relations is not possible.” (pg)