Poland protests to Belarus over ‘intrusion’ by armed forces

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign ministry says it summoned a Belarusian diplomat over an “intrusion” into Polish territory of “uniformed individuals armed with long guns.” The incident comes as Poland, a member of the European Union, faces significant migration pressure on its eastern border with Belarus. That border forms part of the EU’s eastern border with autocratic Belarus. The ministry spokesman said Wednesday that the incident took place on the night between Monday and Tuesday, and that the Belarusian charge d’affaires was summoned to Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. The Polish ministry said that the actions taken by Belarusian authorities “have the increasingly evident hallmarks of a deliberate escalation.” There was no immediate comment from Belarus.