Belarus declares Czech diplomat persona non grata, summons Polish envoy

Belarus has taken diplomatic measures against both the Czech Republic and Poland, expelling a Czech diplomat and summoning Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Minsk, the Foreign Ministry announced.

According to ministry spokesperson Ruslan Varanov, the acting head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Belarus, Tomáš Kryl, was summoned to the ministry on September 19 and declared persona non grata. He has been ordered to leave the country within 72 hours, Caliber.Az reports via the Belarusian foreign ministry’s statement. 

The decision was presented as a reciprocal response to the recent expulsion of Belarusian diplomats from the Czech Republic and Poland on what the ministry called “completely fabricated and unfounded pretexts.”

“The current situation has been caused by the Czech authorities’ years of cultivating a biased attitude towards Belarus,” the ministry said, adding that its response was in line with diplomatic practice and restrictions already imposed on the Belarusian Embassy in Prague.

The ministry also confirmed that Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Belarus, Wojciech Filimonowicz, was summoned for a discussion on bilateral relations. While details of the conversation were not disclosed, officials said further information would be provided later.

Belarus described the incident as “closed” but warned that any further escalation by Warsaw or Prague would prompt additional reciprocal measures.

By Sabina Mammadli