MINSK, 17 September (BelTA) – Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov commented on Poland's decision to close border with Belarus as he opened the exhibition of geographical maps titled “Belarus on the Map: Journey to the Unified Land" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17 September, BelTA has learned.
Maxim Ryzhenkov stressed that for Belarus, 17 September, like other significant historical dates connected with the reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR, is not merely a landmark event, but an act of historical salvation.
He recalled that in 1921 over 110,000 square kilometers of Belarusian lands with nearly 4.5 million compatriots were separated from their homeland. “We can provide archival data showing how Belarusian schools were destroyed, how land of ordinary peasants was given to former Polish military personnel, how our forests and mineral resources were plundered and taken away by trainloads, and how Belarusian political and social ideas were suppressed in that territory,” the minister said.
Returning to the events of the reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR, he pointed out: “It was then that we formed as a single nation with all its features – from Polesie to Vitebsk, from Grodno to Gomel. We fulfilled our dream of living together on our land, as one united family. People’s Unity Day holds a profound and hard-won significance. It represents our self‑awareness, our dignity, and our consolidation around sacred values, such as independence and patriotism,” the minister emphasized.
“Unfortunately, it must be noted that some Polish politicians still hold a negative view of Belarusians today, seeking to pursue the same imperial ambitions, but now through measures of economic and political pressure,” Maxim Ryzhenkov said. “To see this, one needs only to go to the border and observe how our citizens are mistreated and how they are treated overall, to see that the border is now completely closed. This is based on ‘algorithms’ that are incomprehensible to us and go beyond common sense.”
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