MINSK – Belarus has not provoked any border incidents and has no such intentions, as an escalation of regional tensions would be disadvantageous f0r Minsk, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on Nov. 4.
Minsk has thus responded to the demand of Warsaw to explain the presence of armed people in military uniforms on the border.
“Any kind of escalation in the region is completely disadvantageous for the Belarusian side. Belarus has never provoked border incidents and has no such intentions,” the ministry said.
“Once again, we urge the Polish side to realize the pointlessness of pressure on the neighboring sovereign state and, in the case of any issues requiring joint discussion, to fully use the available diplomatic channels and other forms of interstate and interagency communication, instead of pretending to do so,” it said.
According to Polish security service spokesman Stanislaw Zaryn, the incident happened in the Polish territory, about 300 meters from the border with Belarus. Polish soldiers saw three uniformed people carrying firearms.
“They spotted the Polish patrol, reloaded their weapons, and headed to Belarus,” Zaryn said.
According to Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina, the incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday. Nov. 2. Belarusian Charge d’Affaires Alexander Chesnovsky was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry in that connection on Nov. 2.
