Poland will reopen border crossings with Belarus on the night from the 24th to the 25th of September, ending two weeks of restrictions that have caused chaos in rail supplies between China and Europe, writes Politico.
Warsaw, citing security concerns, closed all border crossings with Belarus on the 12th of September. The main concern was the joint military exercises Zapad between Belarus and Russia. Also on the 10th of September, 21 Russian drones crossed the borders of Polish airspace, three of which were shot down.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the Minister of the Interior will issue regulations that will regulate the opening of roads and railway lines. “Taking into account the economic interests of Polish carriers, including PKP Cargo, we concluded that this preventive step has fulfilled its role,” Tusk said.
The closed border was an obstacle to around 25 billion euros in cargo traffic
between China and the European Union. Poland’s state-owned company PKP Cargo warned that a prolonged closure would have an economic impact as cargo would be diverted south, through Central Asia and the Black Sea.
While Beijing has been pushing for the border to be reopened, Polish officials have said security concerns outweigh economic concerns.
Tusk has hinted that the border will be closed again if necessary. He said the situation was not pleasant, and that the closure of Zapad had reduced the direct risk of aggression from Moscow, but had not completely eliminated it.
Read also: Started with Zapad, ends with the stoping of the flow of Chinese goods – the Polish border remains closed