Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has reacted to the stationing of 10,000 Polish troops on the border with Belarus by blaming the Americans for damaging Polish-Belarusian relations and has said he wants to repair his country’s relationship with Poland.
According to the Belarusian press agency Belta, Lukashenko has ordered his prime minister to make contact with Poland.
It is understood the Belarusian dictator does not want his country to abandon relations with neighboring EU states and has expressed his willingness to restore air connections with Western airlines immediately.
Most airlines stopped flying to Belarus after the incident in which a Ryanair flight flying to Vilnius was forced to land in Belarus and two of its passengers were arrested. The West reacted with sanctions and by avoiding Belarusian airspace.
Lukashenko acknowledged that Belarus is economically dependent on cooperation with Russia and China. However, he said that “we must not forget of the technologically advanced West” and that he did not want to lose contact with the EU.
The Belarusian ruler blamed the deterioration of relations with Poland on the USA. “The Americans have been using the Poles. But Poles are our people, they’re Slavs and aren’t stupid. We have to be patient and be ready to cooperate,” he said after meeting Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko.
Lukashenko admitted to being concerned at the massing of Polish troops on the border but put this down to Poland flexing its muscles ahead of elections later this year.
