Poland will continue efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, while Warsaw highly values US efforts to curb Minsk’s hybrid pressure on the European Union, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at a press conference with US President’s Special Envoy John Coale following the exchange at the Polish-Belarusian border that led to the release of Andrzej Poczobut.
“Andrzej Poczobut is not the only Polish citizen released, but we all know that he is a symbol of commitment to Polish identity, as well as to the freedom of the media and journalists. This is proof of the unity and activity of Polish institutions in protecting representatives of the Polish minority in Belarus. These issues are of interest to all political forces in Poland. I believe that today all Poles, all Polish patriots should rejoice at this success. It also proves that consistent actions by the international community, in this case led by the United States, yield results,” Sikorski said.
He expressed gratitude to the United States, Polish services and all those involved in preparing the exchange.
Sikorski also stressed that the EU must remain united in its approach to Belarus, while efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners will continue.
“Poland will continue joint efforts to free all political prisoners. Steps taken by Belarus in the field of European and Ukrainian security are also important. Poland highly appreciates the efforts of the United States to curb hybrid pressure on the European Union from the territory of Belarus. This year, we have had no illegal crossings of our border. Our priority is the unity of the European Union in relation to Belarus,” he said.
According to him, Poczobut’s release is also a signal to the EU in favour of greater engagement on the Belarus track. “Poland remains consistently interested in good-neighbourly relations with a sovereign, peaceful and developing Belarus,” he added.
