P. Soloch: Poland continues dialogue with Belarus - News - National Security Bureau

05.11.2019

P. Soloch: Poland continues dialogue with Belarus

Poland's National Security Bureau (BBN) head Paweł Soloch on Tuesday said that Poland was not giving up dialogue with Belarus but at the same time it was not giving up its principles.

Paweł Soloch made the statement after a meeting with the Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Stanislav Zas, held to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security.

Speaking to PAP, the BBN head underlined Belarus' readiness for dialogue, which was also interesting for Poland's western allies and partners, including the US

"The authorities of Belarus have for some time demonstrated their readiness for dialogue. It is important that this dialogue continues. We are not giving up but, at the same time, we are not giving up our principles. We are a NATO and EU member. Our evaluation of the situation in the east is firm and unchanging," he said.

Minister P. Soloch added that from Poland's point of view Belarus is an important country in our region, a country which shares a common history with Poland. It has an alliance with Russia but we look at our relations also in the context of Belarusian initiatives, such as Minsk's commitment to the de-escalation of military tension in Europe," he emphasised.

He also added that "dialogue is a process, and one should not expect sides to always have an identical opinion."

"But there are areas in which we can reach agreement," he said, adding he had in mind agreement that the Russian aggression against Ukraine resulted in the growth of tension and military presence in our region."

Paweł Soloch also underlined signals sent by the Belarusian administration showing its readiness to deepen its relations with the West, like for instance, the US decision to reopen its diplomatic representation and send its ambassador to Minsk.

Source: own information, PAP