The Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) said in a statement that the closure, which was for national security reasons, took effect at 00:00 local time (2200 GMT) on Friday. All road and rail crossings along the Polish-Belarusian border have been closed with immediate effect until further notice.
Marcin Kierwinski, minister of the MSWiA, said that border traffic will be resumed only when the government is convinced that «the safety of Polish citizens is fully guaranteed.»
The Russian-Belarusian exercise is scheduled to last until Sept. 16. The MSWiA said that given the risk of an extension of «Zapad-2025,» the suspension of border traffic will be lifted only after the drills are concluded.
Russia calls on Poland to reconsider its decision to close the border with Belarus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
«Poland’s unilateral actions will cause serious harm to its international partners who use the Polish-Belarusian border for trade,» she said.
