Poland Outlines Conditions for “Substantive Dialogue” With Belarus

Reform.news Editorial Team · 24 September 2026, 20:46

https://reform.news/en/poland-outlines-conditions-for-substantive-dialogue-with-belarus/

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said Warsaw sees Belarus’ recent actions as a reduction in tensions at the border and the release of political prisoners, but believes Minsk must also continue to refrain from “aggressive gestures.”

The deputy minister made the statement in response to a question from journalists from Slawa TV about a meeting between Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou in New York.

“For several months now, we have been observing gestures and actions. Gestures are one thing, concrete actions are another. And they reduce — especially when it comes to Poland, but not only Poland — the aggressiveness of Belarus’ actions toward its neighbors. These gestures include the release of around 800 political prisoners so far. Of course, several hundred more political prisoners are unfortunately still in Lukashenka’s prisons. We have not forgotten about them, but around 800 prisoners have been released,” Bosacki said.

Bosacki also cited a reduction in migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border as another change.

“There has also been a very significant easing of hybrid pressure on Poland and Europe at the Belarusian-Polish border. There has indeed been a breakthrough here this year. It may not have stopped completely, but it has almost stopped. These attempts now amount to a few percent of what they were over the previous four or five years. We know that all of this was artificial and that it was initiated by the Belarusian security services. We are talking about migration pressure on the eastern border of not only Poland, but the entire European Union,” he said.

According to the deputy minister, political dialogue between Warsaw and Minsk began against this backdrop, with the meeting between Sikorski and Ryzhankou in New York serving as a symbol of it.

“What happens next — whether this will be a breakthrough or merely a one-off gesture — I cannot say. We would, of course, like to maintain good relations with all our neighbors, but these neighbors must not display aggression. I think this is the answer to your question about what Poland’s conditions are for substantive dialogue with Belarus: the Belarusian side, taking into account the gestures and actions it has taken over the past several months, must completely stop its aggressive gestures,” he emphasized.

On September 23, it was reported that Sikorski and Ryzhankou had met in New York. The Polish minister said the sides discussed the situation at the border and regional security. According to Sikorski, he also raised the issue of Belarus not allowing Russian drones and missiles to fly over its territory.

Sikorski described the meeting as a first introductory one. He also said Poland would soon open a new embassy building in Minsk. According to the minister, Warsaw is ready to improve relations with its neighbors if conditions for this emerge.

Asked about the possible recognition of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Sikorski said that Poland as a state recognizes states, not governments.

“It is like a snowdrop that can bloom if the weather is favorable,” he said in response to a question about normalizing relations with Belarus.

Belarus’ Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting. It said Ryzhankou and Sikorski discussed the state of Belarusian-Polish relations, ways to develop them further and the situation in the region.