Poland to open 2 additional checkpoints on border with Belarus - PM

MINSK. Oct 28 (Interfax) - Poland is preparing for the resumption of operations of two previously closed checkpoints on border with Belarus, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the European Union Cohesion and Cross-Border Development Forum in Bialystok.

"We will be ready to open two border checkpoints in Bobrowniki and Kuznica this year, in November," Polish media outlets quoted Tusk as saying.

"In terms of Bobrowniki, there are no logistics problems there. As for Kuznica, the paving on S19 will be ready only by the end of the year, therefore it will apply only to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, but not heavier than that," he said.

"We all understand that if we manage to open these two checkpoints in Bobrowniki and Kuznica, the issue which developed due to the closed border will be largely solved," he said.

Tusk said he ordered relevant agencies to prepare an appropriate solution. "But there is a problem on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. [...] This is why I expect intensive talks with the Lithuanians, in order not to surprise them," he said.

The opening of the two border checkpoints will be "pilot," he said. "If for some reason it turns out that the border must be closed, I will not hesitate a moment. But I hope that everyone on both sides of the border understands that these crossings could serve ordinary people and politics must not grossly interfere all the time in the lives of people living near the border," he said.

The Polowce (Peschatka) and Slawatycze (Domachevo) checkpoints were closed at Poland's initiative in November 2020, followed by the closure of the Kuznica Bialostocka (Bruzgi) checkpoint in November 2021 and the Berestowica (Bobrowniki) checkpoint in February 2023.

Currently, there is one checkpoint for passenger traffic (Terespol-Brest) and one for truck traffic (Kukuryki-Kozlovichi) on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Lithuania earlier officially notified Belarus about the indefinite closure of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border due to numerous incidents involving smuggling.