The border between Belarus and Poland remained open on Friday morning after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said his country needs to close its borders with Poland and Lithuania, Polish border guards said.

“The border is open, we see no disruptions, there are no waiting times and we have no signals that the border is to be closed,” said a Polish border guard officer who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak with media.

Lukashenko, dogged by weeks of protests over a disputed election, said on Thursday that Belarus needed to close its borders with Poland and Lithuania, and strengthen border controls with Ukraine.

Belarus is in a political crisis following an Aug. 9 presidential election marred by vote-rigging allegations that led to mass demonstrations against Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. Lukashenko says he won re-election fairly and is the victim of a smear campaign by the West.

A spokesman for Polish regional border guards and the foreign ministry press office were not immediately available for comment.

Reuters

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