Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki attends a bilateral meeting with EU leaders as part of a EU summit in Brussels, on February 9, 2023. (Photo by JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP)
Warsaw: Poland on Friday closed one of its three existing border crossings with Belarus, as the EU member's prime minister hinted at further restrictions due to "growing tensions" with Minsk.
The decision to close the crossing came a day after a Belarusian court sentenced Polish-Belarusian reporter Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison over his critical reporting on the Moscow-aligned regime in Minsk.
The Bobrowniki border checkpoint was closed at noon local time (1100 GMT), leaving only two crossings with Belarus open.
The Polish interior ministry said the reason for closing the checkpoint was "state security," and that it will remain closed until further notice.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said further closures cannot be ruled out.
"The reason for this is that there are growing tensions with Belarus and they are being instrumentalised by the Russians and the Kremlin," Morawiecki told reporters in Brussels.
Following the Poczobut verdict, which Morawiecki called "inhumane", Warsaw said it would expand the scope of its Belarus sanctions.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said "people responsible for repressive measures against Polish people in Belarus" will be added to the existing sanctions list.
At loggerheads with the West, Minsk often singles out Warsaw as a particular threat, and Poland has become a hub for exiled Belarusians.
