Navrotsky stated that it had not been possible to resolve the historical issues during his meeting with Zelenskyy
Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke about his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which took place during the NATO summit in Ankara. According to him, the two sides were unable to resolve historical issues, though, as he noted, this was not expected, reports Polsat News.
Navrotsky stated that issues relating to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army were, for him, “not up for discussion”, and that differences on this matter remain a specific problem.
“For me, issues concerning the UPA are not up for discussion. We were unable to resolve historical issues. But we did not expect to be able to resolve all issues,” said the Polish president.
At the same time, he emphasised that, despite historical disputes, Poland and Ukraine must take responsibility for what is happening in the wake of the Russian invasion.
“It is good that we met. We discussed with the President of Ukraine what Polish-Ukrainian cooperation should look like,” noted Nawrocki.
The Polish President also stated that Russia poses a long-term threat to both Poland and NATO.
Following the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the conversation with his Polish counterpart as “important and necessary” and said it had lasted over an hour.
Marcin Przydacz, Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Office of the President of Poland, reported that following a brief formal exchange, Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Karol Nawrocki to continue the conversation.
According to Przydacz, the parties devoted a significant part of the meeting to historical issues. He stated that the Polish President explained to his Ukrainian counterpart the reasons behind the negative attitude of a section of Polish society towards the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
“Over the course of this hour, historical facts were presented and an explanation was given as to why Polish public opinion is outraged. I think that Zelenskyy was unaware of many things and learnt about them during his conversation with the historian, as President Nawrocki holds a PhD in history,” said Pszydach.
He also stated that the main topic of the talks was Polish-Ukrainian bilateral relations, rather than the issue of Russian aggression.
Pszydacz reported that the Polish side had reaffirmed its unchanging position on the UPA.
“The President made it clear to Zelenskyy that the issue of attitudes towards the UPA is not open to negotiation. Whenever Ukraine glorifies UPA figures, Poland will react. Ukraine must make a choice: does it want to have good relations with Poland, or bad ones,” he said.
Separately, Pszidacz commented on remarks made by Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, regarding Polish-Ukrainian relations.
According to him, if the Ukrainian side does not appreciate Poland’s assistance and is not interested in its support on the path to the European Union, Warsaw may draw the appropriate conclusions.
The meeting between the presidents took place following a deterioration in Ukrainian-Polish relations, in particular due to disputes over historical issues. Earlier, during talks in Warsaw with his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga proposed a package of anti-crisis measures to ease tensions in bilateral relations.
