Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has written a letter to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in the interests of Catholic Archbishop of Minsk Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who was not allowed to return to Belarus from Poland on 31 August.

The Minister made his letter public in a Facebook post on Sunday morning. “In view of our friendship, I feel that I may write a letter to my fellow foreign minister in all conscience, particularly if in the background of the letter is not the intent to stir up trouble, but the importance of protecting Christian values, for which there is perhaps a greater need in the world today than ever (…) Father Tadeusz and I have also known each other for some time, and I am glad to say that we have a good relationship, and I still remember clearly our last conversation, when he received me at the Church of Saints Simon and Helena in Minsk. Therefore, in view of our friendship, I feel that I may approach my Belarusian foreign minister colleague in all conscience, and ask him to consider the possibility of allowing the Archbishop of Minsk to re-enter the county”, the post reads.
In his English language letter, which was published on the Minister’s Facebook page, Mr. Szijjártó reminds his Belarusian counterpart that Hungary has an interest in maintaining good relations with Belarus within the fields of politics, the economy, culture and also religion, and states that in view of his personal relationship with the Archbishop he is convinced that Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz is truly striving for a peaceful solution without any kind of hidden political agenda.
There have been continuous protests in Belarus since the 9 August presidential elections. The protestors are demanding that President Alexander Lukasenko resign, because they are accusing him of rigging the elections. The Catholic Church has stood up in support of the protestors, but the other denominations have also called for violence to cease and for national dialogue. Some 10-15 percent of Belarus’s population of 9.5 million are Roman Catholic. A significant proportion of them, including the Archbishop himself, are from the Polish minority. Most Christians in Belarus are members of the Orthodox Church.
This week, Alexander Lukasenko accused the Catholic Church of supporting the opposition at the anti-government protests. The President said Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz was not allowed to re-enter Belarus on his return from Poland because he believes the religious leader was returning with “a concrete mission”. In a statement to Spanish news agency EFE from Białystok in Poland, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said he travelled to Poland to hold mass, and did not meet with any Polish leaders during his visit.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)