All news

Russian bikers were not allowed to enter Poland for security concerns

Moscow assesses Warsaw’s refusal to allow a group of Russian bikers to enter Poland as a gesture aimed at deliberately worsening Russian-Polish relations

WARSAW, April 29. /TASS/. Poland will not let in Russian bikers taking part in the motor rally "Roads of Victory - To Berlin" for security concerns, the Polish Foreign Ministry said on its official website on Friday.

"The reason for making such negative decision was the necessity to ensure protection of public order," the foreign ministry said.

"The Foreign Ministry of Poland does not accept unauthorized actions of the Russian side on either bilateral or international level. These events are held in the framework of the campaign on misinforming about the fulfillment by the Polish side of its commitments in the agreement between the governments of Poland and Russia about protecting graves and memorial sites of victims of war and repressions from 22 February 1994," the ministry added. The campaign is "directed at discrediting policy of the Polish government toward the Russian Federation."

Motor rally halted

The motor rally "Roads of Victory - To Berlin" was organized by the "Night Wolves" motorcycling club. Bikers started their rally earlier today from the Moscow Biker Center. Their route lies through the territory of Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic and Germany. It is planned to end on May 9 in Berlin.

Last year the "Night Wolves" held a similar rally devoted to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. They set out from Moscow on April 25, and their route lay through Minsk, Brest, Wroclaw, Brno, Bratislava, Vienna, Munich, Prague and Berlin. Before the start of the rally, Warsaw warned that bikers will be denied entry to the territory of Poland - the first country of the Schengen zone on their way. On April 27 bikers reached the Belarusian-Polish border, and some of them were denied entry to the country. Later, when the rest of bikers were already on the German territory, the German Foreign Ministry said that several visas were annulled. The remaining bikers successfully reached Berlin.

Earlier today Polish authorities denied entry to the country for Russian bikers. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s Ambassador to Moscow Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz.