Poland, Belarus expel each other's diplomats

Xinhuanet:

Poland and Belarus expelled each other's diplomats on Wednesday.

"We have made a decision to expel a counselor of the Belarussian Embassy from Warsaw, from our country, in an identical procedure," Polish Vice Foreign Minister Andrzej Zalucki told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld said his country's decision was in response to Belarus' expulsion of Marek Butcko, first secretary of the Polish Embassy in Belarus.

He also denied Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko's accusation that Poland was working against the president.

Lukashenko's accusation was "complete paranoia," the minister said, noting that Poland's policy has been to support the Belarussian people.

But in Minsk, Ruslan Yesin, press secretary of the Belarussian Foreign Ministry, told reporters that Belarus' expulsion of Butcko was in retaliation for the actions of Poland which several weeks ago asked a Belarussian diplomat to leave.

Yesin said Butcko's personal activities were destabilizing the Belarussian society, noting that the Polish diplomat had been advised to leave Belarus within a month.