Foreign minister quits amid Belarus crisis

Poland’s Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz has resigned, the ministry said on August 20, the second ministerial resignation in a week as Poland tries to play a leading role in the EU response to a political crisis in neighboring in Belarus.

Czaputowicz had signaled in July he may quit, as the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party announced it plans some personnel changes in the government during a reshuffle in the autumn that could see the number of ministries reduced.

His exit comes at an important moment for Polish foreign policy, as Warsaw has sought to push the EU to take an active diplomatic stance towards Belarus, a close Russian ally whose borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are major NATO frontiers.

Czaputowicz’s resignation comes two days after the departure of Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski, who left amid rising daily coronavirus infection rates.

(Reuters)