Belarus said on Thursday it had briefly detained a Polish diplomat, accusing him of espionage and trying to steal the ex-Soviet state's military secrets.
Polish officials said military attache Colonel Kazimierz Witaszczik had already left Minsk and was in Warsaw.
"We have learnt that the military attache of the Polish embassy in Minsk, Colonel Kazimierz Witaszczik, was carrying out spy operations. The diplomat was detained on April 27 as he was receiving material containing Belarussian state secrets," said the Belarussian secret service, still known as KGB.
"Timely intervention by the Belarussian KGB revealed the plans of a foreign intelligence service, brought these under control and prevented serious damage to Belarussian security."
The ex-Soviet state of 10 million people will border an enlarged European Union when Poland, Latvia and Lithuania join the EU later this week.
Poland's Defence Ministry said the diplomat was in Warsaw.
"The only thing I can confirm is that he was recalled to Warsaw for consultations," spokesman Adam Stasinski told Reuters.
Alexander Bazanov, KGB spokesman, said his service had tried to show maximum restraint during the operation to detain the diplomat in order not to hurt ties with its western neighbour.
"We expect Poland will understand our restraint as a display of good will," Bazanov said.
He said the KGB had a video showing the diplomat attempting to secure secret documents from an officer of Belarus's Defence Ministry.
Western countries frequently accuse Belarus of limiting democratic freedoms and staging crackdowns on opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko.
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