About our Poland-Belarus Relations news
Latest news on relations between Poland and Belarus, two neighbouring countries in Eastern Europe. They established diplomatic relations on 2 March 1992, after Belarus declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Poland was one of the first countries to recognize Belarusian sovereignty.
However, relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly in recent years, due to political and ideological differences, as well as security and humanitarian issues.
One of the main sources of tension between Poland and Belarus is the migrant crisis on their border, which started in August 2021. Belarus is accused of deliberately facilitating and encouraging the influx of thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, to cross into Poland and other EU countries, as a form of hybrid warfare and retaliation for EU sanctions imposed on Belarus for its human rights violations and repression of pro-democracy protests. Poland and other EU countries have condemned Belarus for using vulnerable migrants as political pawns and creating a humanitarian emergency on their borders.
The border crisis has also escalated into a diplomatic row between Poland and Belarus, with both sides expelling each other's diplomats and imposing travel bans on each other's officials. Poland has also advised its citizens to leave Belarus due to security risks.