Warsaw/Minsk: Poland will completely close its border with Belarus starting at midnight on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said.
"For national security reasons, we will close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings ... on Thursday at midnight, from Thursday to Friday," Tusk said ahead of a government meeting on Tuesday.
The closure will apply to all crossings, notably those of railways, Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting the Polish Press Agency.
In response, Belarus has protested the Polish decision to halt border crossings during the period of Russia-Belarus military drills Zapad-2025, according to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
The Belarusian side has summoned Poland's charge d'affaires Krzysztof Ozanna in Minsk and issued a verbal protest.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Poland's unilateral move is expected to affect the entire EU-Belarus border, disrupting the movement of people and goods.
This comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's announcement that the American troops will remain stationed in Poland and that the number could further increase.
Trump, on September 3, pledged to "help Poland protect itself" at a White House meeting with Poland's new president, Karol Nawrocki.
"We'll put more there if they want," Trump told reporters when asked if he planned to keep US troops in the frontline nation on NATO's eastern flank.
Nawrocki thanked Trump for his commitment to continued cooperation with his country. "Those relations for me, for Poland, for Poles, are very important," he said.
Earlier in August, the US State Department approved a potential sale to Poland of a package covering maintenance, logistics, and support for F-35 fighter jets, the Polish Press Agency reported.
Citing the Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), reports said General Electric Aerospace will be responsible for the operation of the contract, which is estimated at $1.85 billion.
The DSCA said the sale "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by enhancing the security of a NATO ally that continues to be an important force for political and economic stability in Europe."
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
