Krzysztof Bosak, deputy speaker of the Polish Sejm from the opposition right-wing Confederation party, discussed the prospects for warming relations with Belarus in an interview with Radio Zet.
During a series of listener questions, Bosak was asked whether Poland should seek closer ties with Minsk if the United States was doing so, and whether such rapprochement would be in Poland’s interests.
“It would. However, in my opinion, we have very hostile relations with Belarus. Belarus is not independent in its policy toward Poland, so we must be very careful not to fall under the illusion that if we make Belarus some beneficial offers, Belarus will suddenly stop its hostile policy toward Poland. Belarus is currently, in my view, not acting sovereignly and not acting in accordance with its own interests. It is more dependent on Russia,” Bosak said.
“There is de facto consent from Putin for the relationship between Lukashenka and Trump. Lukashenka would never have done this otherwise,” radio host Bogdan Rymanowski added to the discussion.
“I do not know about that. We can speculate that such a calculation may have been coordinated with the Kremlin. However, I believe that Poland has definitely become too deeply involved in a policy of trying to change the regime in Belarus,” the politician replied.
“We supported the Belarusian opposition too strongly,” the journalist уточнил.
“Mr Editor, either too strongly or too weakly. When you take part in regime change, it is better to be effective. If you are ineffective, it is better not to take part. And Poland is bearing the costs of trying to overthrow the regime in Belarus without getting any result,” Bosak said.
“Was this an attempt to overthrow the regime or simply to help people who were being repressed?” Rymanowski asked.
“For the last two decades, Poland has been trying to overthrow the regime in Belarus, and it has been completely ineffective,” the deputy speaker said.
“What evidence do you have for that?” the journalist asked.
“The allocation of state money for it and official statements by all the parties that have successively governed Poland,” the politician replied.
“And that was a mistake?” the host continued.
“Pursuing ineffective policy is a mistake. If they had succeeded, I would say that everything was fine. However, they failed. Therefore, it was ineffective policy,” Bosak responded.
It is worth noting that Confederation is currently, according to opinion polls, the third most popular party in Poland. It regularly criticises both of the main political forces, Law and Justice and the Civic Coalition. At the same time, Confederation deputies in the Sejm generally vote against initiatives put forward by the ruling coalition.
