Warm welcome in Belarusian and Polish: FM Waszczykowski in mother's native town

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During a two-day official visit to Belarus, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski spent a few hours in the town of Vaukavysk.

The minister also visited Hrodna, where he walked along its main streets, came to see St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and laid flowers at the monument to Eliza Orzeszkowa, calling himself ‘tuteishy’ which is literally means ‘local’, ‘from here.

Read also: Warming of Minsk-Warsaw relations

Not only settling political issues, but also sentiment led Mr Waszczykowski to the small Belarusian town. His mother Michalina comes from Vaukavysk. Her family lived there before the Second World War, and the minister’s grandfather worked at the post office. After the war, they had to move to Piotrków Trybunalski in Poland.

In the main square town square Mr Waszczykowski had his picture taken near the monument to the wolf, a symbol of the town.

After a short tour of the town, the minister visited School Nr 8 with the Polish language of instruction, where pupils gave him a hospitable welcome in Belarusian and Polish.

The official also talked to local Poles who presented him with old photos of the town and, in particular, of the post-office, where his grandfather worked long time ago.

In the course of his visit to Belarus, Witold Waszczykowski also laid flowers on the graves of the killed by Stalin’s executioners, visited a Polish visa centre in Minsk, met with his Belarusian counterpart Uladzimir Makey and held talks with president Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Read also: Vox populi: What Belarusians think about Poland (ENG video)

Belsat.eu, following volkovysk.by. Phot, by Natalie Demidova, Yury Chupreta