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Minsk denies its helicopters violated Poland’s border

Anatoli Glaz stressed that there was no deviation into Polish territory

MINSK, August 3. /TASS/. No Belarusian helicopters, including those allegedly belonging to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s bodyguard service, have violate the border with Poland, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz told TASS.

Poland’s former prime minister (held office in 1996-1997), member of the European Parliament Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said on the RMF FM radio station that the two helicopters, which, according to the Polish side, violated the Polish air border on August 1, belonged to the Belarusian president's bodyguard service.

"Yesterday Poland’s charge d'affaires visited our Foreign Ministry He was shown everything and provided with the most detailed explanations based on objective monitoring data. There was no deviation into Polish territory. There was simply no such incident. Therefore, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz’s speculations have nothing to do with reality," Glaz said.

On August 1, the Polish government said that two Belarusian military helicopters violated the Polish air border near Bialowieza. On the same day, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak ordered to increase the number of military servicemen on the border with Belarus and reinforce its protection with attack helicopters.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry dismissed as far-fetched the accusations its Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters had violated the Polish border. Minsk believes that the Polish military and political leadership merely looks for an excuse for the build-up of its forces near the Belarusian border.