Polish and Belarusian intelligence services maintain established communication channels, with the extradition of the suspect in the killing of a Polish soldier currently the key issue in their dialogue. This was stated by Colonel Paweł Szota, head of Poland’s Intelligence Agency, in an interview with Rzeczpospolita.
“The Intelligence Agency played a key role in securing the release of Andrzej Poczobut. International cooperation, including with our allies, was crucial in this regard. Andrzej Poczobut’s gratitude was invaluable to our officers. I would also add that we currently have well-established communication channels with the Belarusian intelligence services,” he said when asked about the agency’s role in Poczobut’s release.
Szota stressed that Warsaw maintains contacts with Minsk independently.
“We maintain them ourselves. Our intention is to discuss with the Belarusian side all issues that may contribute to improving our security. The unique role of intelligence services is to establish clear communication channels where diplomacy is impossible or difficult. Using intelligence channels, it is better to meet with representatives of the Lukashenka regime, discuss issues and secure benefits for Poland than to passively watch Russia ‘swallow’ Belarus,” he said.
It should be noted that Szota effectively confirmed remarks made by Belarusian KGB chief Ivan Tertel. In December last year, Tertel said that dialogue with Poland was under way and expressed confidence that it would produce results.
The head of the Intelligence Agency also said that the extradition of the suspect in the killing of Polish soldier Mateusz Sitek is currently the central issue in dialogue with Minsk.
“This is one of the key elements of the ongoing dialogue with Minsk. In my view, without progress on this issue, it will be difficult to achieve further steps toward improving Polish-Belarusian relations,” he said.
It was recently reported that the investigation into the killing had been suspended. In December last year, the Polish authorities submitted an extradition request to Belarus, but it has received no response.
In the interview, Szota also said he was confident that Poland’s intelligence services were capable of responding to actions by the Belarusian and Russian intelligence services. He described Russian intelligence as posing the greater threat.
“The actions of Russian intelligence amount to state terrorism. However, at the Intelligence Agency, we do not ignore threats from other directions,” he said.
Another Belarus-related topic raised in the interview was the deployment of the Oreshnik missile system. Szota did not directly answer whether the missile system had been moved to Belarusian territory.
“I am concerned about Russia’s attempts to subordinate the Belarusian armed forces. An example of this is the agreement on joint security guarantees, which places Russia in a privileged position.
The fact that Russia used Belarusian territory at the start of the war in Ukraine demonstrates that the Kremlin is the dominant force in this partnership. Therefore, the preparation of infrastructure, the delivery of systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons and the narrative surrounding their deployment require us to take these issues very seriously,” he said.
