The accelerated concentration of Russian troops in Belarus and the plans for military exercises between the two countries should trigger additional warnings, Deputy Foreign Minister Wojciech Gerwel said on Friday. As he added, such a buildup of power signaled “negative consequences”.

– It is my duty to express in this room Poland’s deep concern about the role of Belarus in the Kremlin’s strategy towards Ukraine (…) The accelerated concentration of Russian troops in Belarus, including the recently announced Russian-Belarusian exercises to be held between January 16 and February 1 should set off additional warning bells, Gerwel said during a UN Security Council debate on the situation in Ukraine.

He recalled that similar drills preceded last year’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, adding that “concentration of troops in our region usually has negative consequences.”

– So we must send a clear message to Belarus that it can still turn around and make the right choice. Minsk should realize that its further active involvement in the invasion will be met with a strong response from the international community, said the deputy minister.

Gerwel also informed the Council about Poland’s assistance to refugees and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, as well as about the recent Polish, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian presidents’ meeting in Lviv, where leaders supported the creation of an international tribunal for Russian aggression and the organization of the Global Peace Summit. proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Let us make every effort to avoid further escalation of the conflict and use all available tools to build a just peace,” Grewel said.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova also spoke about the need to create a tribunal for Russian aggression. Russia has carried out 64,000 deaths so far, he said. record war crimes.

This terrible crime would not have been possible without the so-called mother of all crimes, which was the crime of aggression against my home country Crimea in 2014 – he said.