Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sadoś, briefed his counterparts on Belarus’ role in the abduction of children from Ukraine at a meeting on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Sadoś outlined information provided to him by the exiled Belarusian opposition politician Pavel Latushka.
Latushka serves as Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, formed by politicians opposed to the Minsk regime, the PAP news agency reported.
According to a letter from Latushka, some 2,000 children, mainly from occupied areas of Ukraine, have been forcibly transferred to holiday camps and sanatoriums in Belarus.
These illegal deportations are overseen by a charity run by a Belarusian national, Aleksey Talay, and a non-profit from the Russian-occupied Donetsk City, Latushka said.
Talay has admitted that the illegal deportations of Ukrainian children to Belarus have been authorised by Belarus' strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, according to Latushka.
State-run Belarusian firm 'aiding war crimes'
Moreover, the operation has been supported by state-run Belarusian company Belaruskali, which has been sanctioned by the EU, the United States and Ukraine, according to the Belarusian opposition.
Latushka argued that Belaruskali was therefore “aiding war crimes,” as the illegal deportation of children from occupied parts of Ukraine had been designated a war crime, the PAP news agency reported.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for suspected deportation of children from Ukraine.
Belaruskali is one of the world’s largest producers of potash fertilisers and the main source of foreign currency for the Belarusian government, thus helping the Lukashenko regime “actively support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Latushka also said.
Meanwhile, there have been calls in Brussels for the lifting of EU sanctions on Belarusian potash “in the interests of global food security,” according to the PAP news agency.
Latushka warned in his letter that “relaxation of sanctions against Belarus will indirectly boost Minsk’s potential to help finance Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the committing of war crimes,” as quoted by PAP.
Poland opposes 'any relaxation' of EU sanctions on Belarus
Many EU member states, including Poland, have argued that concern for “global food security” is merely a pretext as Belarusian potash has been replaced on world markets by products from Canada, among other countries, PAP reported.
Global prices of agricultural products and fertilisers are falling, officials have also said.
At Tuesday’s meeting of EU ambassadors, Poland’s Sadoś reiterated that “Poland won’t approve any relaxation of EU sanctions against Belarus,” the PAP news agency reported.
Latushka, who is based in Poland, is a former Belarusian culture minister and ambassador to several European countries.
Wednesday is day 448 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, marketscreener.com