|
Poland Belarus
For several reasons, Polish relations with Belarus were
slow
to develop. Belarus, which had never existed as an
independent
state, had been so firmly incorporated into the Soviet
Union that
it lacked the intense sense of nationhood found in the
Baltic
states and in Ukraine. Prior to the August coup attempt,
Polish
overtures were frustrated because the Belorussian Republic
(as it
was known before independence) hesitated to pursue foreign
policy
initiatives without the Kremlin's blessing. Most notably,
in late
1990 the Belorussians refused to sign a declaration of
friendship
and cooperation, although Russia and Ukraine had already
signed
similar agreements. Minsk specifically objected to wording
about
its borders with Poland and to the treatment of the
approximately
300,000 ethnic Belorussians in Poland
(see Ethnic Groups
, ch. 2).
After August 1991, relations evolved rapidly once
Belarus had
declared its independence. In a declaration of friendship
and
cooperation, signed in October 1991, each party renounced
territorial claims against the other and promised to
respect
minority rights. In December 1991, Poland extended
diplomatic
recognition to Belarus. Commercial ties between the two
countries
flourished in 1991 and 1992, and several important
transportation
and economic agreements took effect. A bilateral treaty of
wideranging cooperation in security, environmental, economic,
and
other matters was prepared for signing in mid-1992.
Data as of October 1992
|
