Belarus Expels Czech Diplomat in Tit-for-Tat Move Amid EU Tensions
Minsk cites bias as Prague accuses Belarus of running a spy network; the retaliatory move comes as tensions with the European Union escalate ahead of regional security exercises
Belarus expelled a Czech diplomat on Friday in a tit-for-tat move as relations with European Union nations deteriorate.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the action was connected to a cultivated bias against Belarus by Czech authorities. Prague had earlier expelled a Belarusian diplomat after announcing on Sept. 8 that it had uncovered a spy network in Europe controlled by Minsk. The Czech intelligence agency, BIS, said a team of European agents had identified spies from Belarus’s KGB security service operating in several European countries.
Separately, Poland announced that it had arrested a Belarusian spy and said it would expel a Belarusian diplomat who supported the aggressive actions of the Belarusian state against Poland. Minsk summoned the head of Poland’s diplomatic mission for a substantive discussion on the current state of Belarus-Poland relations.
Belarus has been ruled for more than three decades by authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a springboard for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and later authorized the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles. In September, Poland completely closed its border with Belarus, citing concerns about the Zapad 2025 military exercises taking place in the country with the involvement of Russian troops.
The episode underscores the widening strain between Minsk and Western governments as Belarus’s security role in the region remains tied to Moscow’s military objectives, even as Western sanctions and diplomatic pressure persist.