Energy News
SUPERPOWERS
Belarus strongman orders contact with Poland amid border tensions
Belarus strongman orders contact with Poland amid border tensions
by AFP Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Aug 11, 2023

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko said Friday he had ordered "contact" with Poland and that he was ready to talk amid rising border tensions between the NATO member and Moscow ally.

Last week, Poland said two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace and detained a Belarusian man on suspicion of being part of a "Russian spy ring."

Relations between Minsk and Warsaw, frozen for years, have hit new lows since Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine.

Tensions further escalated when Minsk became a new base for fighters from Russia's Wagner mercenary group, with Poland saying this was a security threat and strengthening border defence.

"We need to talk to the Poles. I ordered the prime minister to contact them," Lukashenko said, according to state news agency Belta.

"We are neighbours and you don't choose your neighbours."

The unusual comment came a day after Warsaw announced it would send 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus.

"They have parliamentary elections on October 15, of course they need to escalate the situation... to show that they have properly armed (Poland)," Lukashenko said.

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said that if the Belarusian leader "really wants to improve relations with Poland, he can do it in a very simple way".

He urged Lukashenko to "stop attacking our border, free the more than one thousand political prisoners and (Belarusian-Polish journalist) Andrzej Poczobut, stop this hate campaign, this hybrid war against Poland".

"We have no hostile intentions towards Belarus and never have," he told Polsat television.

But Jablonski said "Lukashenko's words remain at odds with his actions".

Poland has warned of "provocations" involving the Wagner group, which Lukashenko is hosting after their failed mutiny in Russia.

While on a trip to Saint Petersburg last month, Lukashenko sitting next to Putin, joked that Wagner fighters are "asking to go West, ask for permission... to go on a trip to Warsaw, to Rzeszow."

Poland has become a hub for thousands of Belarusians who have fled their homeland, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Philippines accuses China Coast Guard of firing water cannon at its boats
Manila (AFP) Aug 6, 2023
The Philippines condemned China's Coast Guard on Sunday for firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, describing the actions as "illegal" and "dangerous". China said it had taken "necessary controls" against Philippines boats that had "illegally" entered its waters. Beijing claims almost all of the sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The latest inci ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
HALO investigates transport of polluted air masses over the Pacific Ocean

Global collaboration leads to new discoveries in lightning research

NASA TechRise Student Challenge tests experiments in stratosphere

What role do dust storms play in the world's climate?

SUPERPOWERS
Present and future of satellite navigation

New Galileo station goes on duty

Potential earthquake precursor discovered through GPS measurements

Northrop Grumman's new airborne navigation system achieves successful flight test

SUPERPOWERS
Amazon nations launch alliance to fight deforestation at summit

'Mother Nature needs money,' Lula tells rich countries at summit

German drought prompts rethink for ancient palace park trees

Relief and despair: repeal of logging ban divides Kenya

SUPERPOWERS
Transforming flies into degradable plastics

Missouri residents to get natural gas from landfill emissions

New process coverts CO2 into fuel more efficiently than photosynthesis

Harnessing synthetic biology to make sustainable alternatives to petroleum products

SUPERPOWERS
Highly efficient organometal halide perovskite photoelectrodes for water splitting

U.S. announces tax credits for clean energy programs in underserved communities

Waste plastics transformed into chemicals with solar-powered catalyst

Huge solar arrays installed on Psyche

SUPERPOWERS
DLR opens wind energy research farm in Krummendeich

U.S. identifies three new areas for potential offshore wind energy development

Biden to visit Philly Shipyard to announce construction of offshore wind vessel

New transmission line to carry wind energy electricity from Wyoming to Nevada

SUPERPOWERS
S.Africa church fights class action against coal mines

Erdogan defends expansion of controversial coal mine

Global coal demand to stay near record in 2023: IEA

Nations call for swift fossil fuel exit to tackle climate change

SUPERPOWERS
Australia PM urges China to free jailed journalist

Young Chinese scratch an economic itch with lottery cards

Convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Pakistan's Gwadar: militants

'I miss the sun,' says Australian journalist detained in China

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.