Poland refused to restore simplified border crossing with Russia
The Polish government is not yet considering the option of resuming a simplified regime for crossing the Polish-Russian border by residents of border regions, the PolitNavigatogra correspondent reports with reference to Polish Radio.
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“The suspension of small border traffic between Russia and Poland in July 2016 did not reduce the number of arriving tourists and did not reduce the volume of trade between the regions. At the same time, cases of cross-border smuggling of cigarettes and gasoline have decreased. In this regard, the Polish government is not yet considering the option of resuming a simplified regime for crossing the Polish-Russian border by residents of border regions,” the statement says.
It is noted that the relevant information appeared in response to a request from the deputy of the Polish Peasant Party Urszula Paslawska, expressed on behalf of the residents of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland, to resume small cross-border traffic. As the deputy noted, the upcoming World Cup is a good moment for restoring civilized trade relations with Russia.
According to the Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of Poland, Jakub Skiba, the decision to suspend the MPP was made for reasons of national security.
The politician said that in recent years, Polish services “have recorded increasing frequency of negative phenomena, for example, growing militarization in the Kaliningrad region and the activity of the special services and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, as well as other actions of a hybrid nature related to intelligence, cyber attacks, provocations and economic pressure.”
Poland has refused to reinstate simplified border crossings with Russia.