WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland has arrested a Belarusian spy and will expel a diplomat who “supported the aggressive action of the Belarusian state against Poland”, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday on X, without providing any further details.
Poland, a NATO and European Union member, has long had strained relations with neighbouring Belarus on a range of issues, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and his crackdowns on dissent. Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The arrest was the result of cooperation between Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) and its counterparts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Moldova, Tomasz Siemoniak, who oversees Polish intelligence services, said on X.
“The suspect was engaged in intelligence activities in Poland and Hungary,” Siemoniak wrote.
The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Belarusian Embassy in Warsaw on Tuesday to give formal notice that a diplomat directly involved in spying activities was having their diplomatic accreditation revoked, he added.
The Belarussian embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Marek StrzeleckiEditing by Gareth Jones)
