"Playing on the crisis": how Poland seeks to use the situation with the Belarusian protests for its own purposes

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the "Visegrad Four" (the unofficial name of the union of four Central European states - the Czech Republic, the Hungarian Republic, the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic -

) wants to offer a visa-free regime for Belarusians.

He announced this after a meeting of the heads of government of the four countries in Lublin, Poland.

“We know how important the best infrastructure is for trade between our countries.

We want to offer Belarus a visa-free regime.

This is an economic package that we will present at the next meeting of the European Council, ”said Morawiecki.

Earlier, the Polish government launched the Business Harbor program, which facilitates the relocation of specialists and companies from Belarus.

The website of the Polish Cabinet of Ministers states that "this comprehensive support package will help freelancers, start-ups, small and medium-sized businesses and large companies move smoothly to the territory of the Republic of Poland."

“Business Harbor is a program through which the Polish government supports entrepreneurial Belarusians from the ICT sector.

This is an additional set of tools and services that contribute to the success of Belarusians in Poland based on knowledge, modern standards and close trade relations with neighbors and the world.

The program stipulates that the success of Belarusian entrepreneurs in Poland will affect the success of modern Belarus as a whole, ”the Polish government said in a statement.

According to the Polish side, since the country "directly borders on Belarus", it "bears responsibility for its neighbors."

“Over the eastern border, turning points are taking place, to which Europe cannot remain indifferent.

The Belarusians have overcome their fear, and now they are demonstrating to the whole world that they want to be part of a Europe consisting of free, democratic and law-abiding peoples.

The Polish government supports these aspirations, ”the Polish Cabinet of Ministers said in a statement.

"Strange speculations"

Meanwhile, earlier in Poland they said that Warsaw would face “a new kind of“ Russian empire ”on the Polish border in the event that Belarus was“ included ”in the“ system ”of the Russian Federation.

This was announced by Piotr Grochmalski, professor at the Academy of Military Art in Warsaw, in an interview with Polskie Radio 24.

“As for the scale of our historical experience, it is Belarus that is key from the point of view of European security.

If the Russians fully integrate this country into their system, we will face a new kind of Russian empire on our border, ”he said.

• Warsaw

• Reuters

• © Kacper Pempel

At the same time, according to Grochmalski, Russian foreign policy strategy is characterized by expansion on a large scale.

“In the case of Belarus, there were attempts to master culture and civilization, as well as to create a Russian republic within the framework of the Union State,” the Polish professor says.

Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, called Grokhmalski's statements "conjectures".

“These conjectures, these statements - they are not from a deep understanding of the processes that are taking place in the post-Soviet space and in Europe in general,” he said.

According to the senator, Moscow is building relations with Minsk, since the peoples of the two states are in fact one whole.

“They have the same theme ... This elite (Polish. -

) is not determined to restore good-neighborly relations with all its neighbors, but this elite has chosen Russia as an enemy, all of its rhetoric towards Russia is reduced to criticism, to accusations of some kind of "imperial" designs, "Tsekov said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said that “such mental constructions” as those of the Polish professor are “strange”.

According to Novikov, there “it is not clear what is the task and what is the argumentation”.

“But in general, it is so dashing to single out Belarus and Russia into two separate civilizations - it must be either a completely dense person who does not know the historical context, or a very biased person who makes a statement not depending on historical realities, but depending on some political market conditions, for the interests of which he works, "Novikov explained in a commentary on RT.

"Wishful thinking"

According to Vladimir Schweitzer, head of the department of social and political research at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, “while talking about the phantom“ Russian empire ”, the Poles want to simultaneously benefit” from the situation with protests that is now observed in the Belarusian republic.

Moreover, for this purpose, Poland is deliberately talking about the creation of a unified state and the accession of Belarus to the Russian Federation, the expert believes.

“This is done solely for propaganda purposes.

In fact, such a concept as the Union State is rather a figure of speech, legally and in international law it is not indicated anywhere.

Everyone understands that there are two separate countries, but there are close historical, cultural and economic ties between them - they were, are and will be.

No one is going to create an empire for sure, "the analyst emphasized in a commentary on RT.

• Protests in Belarus, September 6, 2020

• Reuters

Schweitzer noted that against the background of statements about the unification of the Russian and Belarusian states, it is simply easier for Poland to implement its initiatives to attract Belarusian business.

At the same time, as the analyst emphasizes, Warsaw plans to deal with Belarus according to approximately the same scenario as with Ukraine: then "Poland also took advantage of the political chaos in order to get more or less worthwhile specialists."

“There are direct associative connections here.

Warsaw literally wants to entice the cadres of Belarus that they need.

However, how these people will feel in Poland is a big question, if, of course, Warsaw succeeds in successfully implementing its plan, ”Schweitzer said.

As RISS expert, Doctor of Historical Sciences Oksana Petrovskaya said in an interview with RT, the number of those wishing to move from Belarus to Poland “will depend on the economic and legal norms” that will be established for this category of persons on the territory of the Polish Republic.

“It is quite possible that not all companies will want to take such a step, since there are special conditions for IT firms in Belarus, in particular, practically minimal taxes.

I am not sure that Poland will go to create the same concessions for Belarusians, ”the analyst said.

According to Konstantin Voronov, Head of the Regional Problems and Conflicts Sector of the European Political Studies Department of the IMEMO RAS, Poland is unlikely to achieve the introduction of a visa-free regime for citizens of Belarus in the Visegrad four countries.

“Warsaw does not have the leverage necessary for this.

The four EU countries cannot independently change the Schengen agreements, which regulate the visa-free regime for third countries.

The rules on migration processes are determined by the general laws of the union, approved by Brussels, which is now unlikely to want to increase the army of labor migrants within its borders, given the economic crisis, "the expert said in a commentary on RT.

Therefore, Poland, speaking with such initiatives, rather wants to pass off wishful thinking, Voronov believes.

“Warsaw will continue to use any pretext to play on the Belarusian crisis in its favor.

She needs to somehow increase her political weight, her reputation, gain some political points in Europe, not to mention her internal electoral motives, ”the analyst concluded.