Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleBelarus condemns the Czech Republic's expulsion of its diplomat as unjustified, amid rising tensions and Poland's border closure with Belarus.
(Reuters) -Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies, denounced a decision by the Czech Republic to expel one of its diplomats, branding it on Tuesday as groundless and unfriendly.
The Belarusian announcement coincided with a statement by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that authorities in Warsaw had arrested a Belarusian spy and would expel a diplomat who "supported the aggressive action of the Belarusian state against Poland".
Tusk also said that Poland was closing its border with Belarus on Thursday as a result of Russia-led military exercises taking place in Belarus.
"Belarus firmly denounces the decision of the Czech side to declare a member of the Belarusian embassy in Prague persona non grata," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"This step is groundless and politically motivated and does not help the development of constructive mutual interaction and the normalisation of bilateral relations."
The statement said Belarus reserved the right to take retaliatory measures and urged Czech authorities to take no further hostile actions.
The Czech authorities announced their decision to expel a diplomat on Monday, saying it had "broken up a Belarusian intelligence network being built in Europe".
Belarus's relations with central European countries have become increasingly strained, particularly in connection with the country's support for Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus allowed Russian forces to use its territory to enter Ukraine, but veteran President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country's forces would take no part in it.
The Czech statement said Prague would not tolerate "the abuse of diplomatic cover for secret service activities".
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Belarus denounced the Czech Republic's decision to expel its diplomat as groundless and politically motivated, stating it does not aid in the normalization of bilateral relations.
Poland announced it would close its border with Belarus due to Russia-led military exercises taking place in Belarus.
The Czech authorities expelled a Belarusian diplomat, claiming to have disrupted a Belarusian intelligence network operating in Europe.
Belarus reserved the right to take retaliatory measures and urged Czech authorities to refrain from further hostile actions.
Belarus's support for Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has increasingly strained its relations with Central European countries.
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