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None of Belarusians detained in Poland affiliated with intel services, KGB chief assures

According to Ivan Tertel, a number of Polish citizens, who he called traitors, were also detained in Belarus "while conducting active undercover operations"

MINSK, April 4. /TASS/. None of the Belarusian citizens who were detained in Poland is affiliated with special services, Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Chairman Ivan Tertel said on Tuesday.

"The Polish side reported the detention of a large number of citizens, including from the Republic of Belarus, who are allegedly involved in KGB activities. I can assure you that this couldn’t be further from the truth, as none of those detained on Polish territory has anything to do with the activities of Belarusian special services," Tertel said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin. The Belarusian KGB chief said he could personally vouch for this fact.

According to Tertel, a number of Polish citizens, who he called traitors, were also detained in Belarus "while conducting active undercover operations." "Of course, the Polish side is seeking an exchange for any of these [Polish] nationals by any means, but none of the people they detained serve the purposes of the special services of the Republic of Belarus," he underscored.

In early March, Poland’s Internal Security Agency detained nine foreigners who were later charged with espionage for Russia, as well as for their role in an organized crime syndicate. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said that the suspects had allegedly "conducted intelligence activities against Poland and also plotted acts of sabotage on order from Russian intelligence." On March 22, Lukashenko told reporters that Warsaw had approached Minsk with a proposal to swap the Belarusian detainees. According to him, Polish authorities detained five Ukrainians and three Belarusians, but no one has proved or shown anything.