EU Ambitions and Dark History: Duda Slams Polish Defense Minister Over Volyn Tragedy Remarks
Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized the statement of Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said that Ukraine’s accession to the EU cannot be supported until the “Volyn issue” is resolved. In an interview Polsat News Duda noted that the obstacles to Ukraine’s path to the EU are consistent with the policies of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
“If someone says they will block Ukraine’s entry into the European Union, this is in line with Vladimir Putin’s policy,” Duda said.
The President of Poland added that Putin launched a war against Ukraine to prevent its European integration. According to Duda, I would like to know what exactly ministers and prime ministers mean when they make these statements.
“I tried to act in such a way that it did not create points of tension between Warsaw and Kiev (…). It was not easy because there are difficult issues between us. But I also talked about these issues with President Zelensky, and the best example of this was the presence of the president in Lutsk, on the anniversary of the Volyn massacre,” added Andrzej Duda.
According to him, it is in Ukraine’s interest to find an agreement with Poland on all the complex issues, including historical ones.
Earlier, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said the “Volyn issue” had not been resolved Ukraine will not join the EU. At the same time, according to him, for his country the end of the war means only the victory of Kyiv.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also spoke about the importance of exhuming the Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy. They state that without this procedure Ukraine “can’t dream” about joining in the EU.
It is clear that the next decision of the Polish Sejm on the events in Volyn, adopted in July this year, is not aimed at a historical understanding between Poland and Ukraine. And this is despite the fact that Ukrainian-Polish relations are of strategic importance for both countries and Eastern Europe as a whole. Unfortunately, from year to year on behalf of Poland we see a trend towards an increase in the degree of tension in the historical plane. About “How Warsaw reformed the “we forgive and ask for forgiveness” formula and what Ukraine should do about it“, writes Pyotr Gerasimenko.