Politics & Economics

Czech Republic is Ready to Help Poland With Border Crisis

November 15, 2021

The Czech Republic is the next country to announce open support for Poland in the struggle against the migration crisis at the border with Belarus.

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek discussed the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Sunday.

Kulhanek noted that the Visegrád Four foreign ministers would meet on Monday to further discuss the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. Kulhanek intends to repeat his offer of aid during the meeting and was in favor of additional sanctions against Belarus.

The Czech foreign minister was also supported by the deputy leader of the Mayors and Independents (STAN) party Vieslav Michalik who declared that the Czech Republic “would show our neighbors that we are not cowards.”

Jakub Kulhanek, along with Andrej Babiš’s entire cabinet, has recently resigned. The new cabinet will be formed by the leader of the right-wing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Petr Fiala.

On Saturday, the ODS parliamentary club called for the dispatchment of Czech police officers to the Polish-Belarusian border. ODS believes that the Czech government should support any decision that EU institutions will make concerning Belarus.

I spoke with my Polish colleague @RauZbigniew. We discussed the dire situation on Poland-Belarus border. I expressed our solidarity with Poland and reiterated our readiness to help bilaterally if need be. Tomorrow we will continue discussing #Belarus at the #FAC and #V4 meeting. pic.twitter.com/o6Lfw9n6Gv

— Jakub Kulhanek (@JakubKulhanek) November 14, 2021

Thousands of refugees and migrants trying to cross into the European Union are stranded along the Belarusian border as Poland has denied them entry amid a standoff with Belarus.

Fears for their safety are growing due to freezing conditions, a lack of vital supplies and medical care, and a spate of deaths on both sides of the border.

Since August thousands of men, women and children have amassed at Belarus’s western border with Poland. They are mostly from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and are now enduring freezing conditions in the hope of crossing into the EU.