The Polish Ambassador does not rule out the possibility of expanding the simplified border crossing zone between Belarus and Poland

February 25, Vitebsk / Sergei Kochetov - BELTA /. Polish Ambassador to Belarus Henryk Litwin does not rule out the possibility of expanding the border zone, for residents of which a simplified procedure for crossing the Belarusian-Polish border is provided in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement on the rules of border traffic. The diplomat stated this today in Vitebsk to journalists, answering a question from a BELTA correspondent. "This agreement was prepared in accordance with the general principles of the European Union, and if we have good experience in its implementation, we can propose changes to these norms, including expanding the zone up to 50 km," Henryk Litwin noted. Today, such a possibility is provided only in cases where a larger part of the territorial-administrative unit falls within the 30-kilometer zone of the agreement's operation - then the remaining part is also included in this zone. "Under the Belarusian-Polish agreement, the basic unit is the rural council and the gmina, and these are usually small territories," the diplomat explained. At the same time, it is important that Grodno and Brest were included in the zone of simplified border crossing from the Belarusian side, he noted. The intergovernmental Belarusian-Polish agreement on the rules of border traffic provides for a simplified procedure for crossing the Belarusian-Polish border by residents of border territories who have been permanently residing in border territories for at least three years, and the possibility for these categories of citizens to stay in border territories for up to 90 days within six months. Border territories include administrative-territorial units of Belarus and Poland adjacent to the Belarusian-Polish border, which are within a zone of up to 30 km from the border line. -0-