President Lech Kaczynski
Posted on 04/20/2006 10:51:14 AM PDT by lizol
Lech Kaczynski: Poland wants "pragmatic dialogue" with Russia
Polish President Lech Kaczynski said in an exclusive interview with Interfax that his country wanted "a pragmatic dialogue" with Russia and that he "cannot rule out the possibility" of meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in autumn of 2006.
"We want to have a pragmatic dialogue with Moscow and implement numerous mutually beneficial projects. After the visit of the special envoy of the president of the Russian Federation for relations with the European Union, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, to Warsaw, we believe that our Russian partners have the same intentions," Kaczynski said.
"At present, we cooperate with the Russian side, creating an environment for better bilateral relations," he said.
"I believe that a meeting between the presidents of both states should become one of the stages in this work. I suppose the date and venue for such an event would be set soon," Kaczynski said.
"In view of the circumstances, that is the status quo ante [former state of Polish-Russian relations] and the desire for an early meeting, I think it will be a working meeting. We already know that the Russian side is thinking along the same lines. I cannot rule out the possibility that such a meeting may be held in autumn this year," he said.
Speaking about Polish-Russian trade, he mentioned the effect of world oil prices on the structure of trade. "For several years now, the volume of our oil imports from Russia has remained unchanged, but the cost is growing fast. We have no way to control this," he said.
But Polish exports to Russia are rising rapidly, increasing revenues as well, Kaczynski said. He said the total cost of goods sold by Poland to Russia grew 87% in 2004 and about 40% in 2005. Moreover, Poland has ceased to be a pure food exporter, and manufactured goods are taking the upper hand.
Kaczynski expressed hope that Russia would soon lift its autumn 2005 bans on imports of Polish meat, vegetables and timber.
Kaczynski also called for creation of reliable system for shipping energy to Europe.
The North European Gas Pipeline project gives one the impression that Poland was left out of the development of a Russian-European transit infrastructure, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said.
"Russia's wish to diversify transit routes is natural, but the problem of Russian-European gas transportation routes should involve all interested sides, especially since Russia and Poland have bilateral relations in that sphere," Kaczynski said.
"Poland felt left out of the development of a long-term plan for the construction of a Russian-European transit infrastructure," Kaczynski said. The construction of the north European pipeline may also pose ecological threats, he noted.
Poland "is in favor of creating a reliable and economically profitable system for the shipment of oil and gas to Europe and believes that there is a need to coordinate the actions of EU states in this sphere," Kaczynski said.
Diversifying gas shipments is the prospective goal of Poland, and, in this connection, Warsaw "is counting on [Russia's] understanding," he said.
Poland is considering the possibility of building a terminal for liquefied gas and taking part in international projects that envisage shipping gas to Europe from various countries. Poland will study the possibility of using gas from Norway, central Asia, North Africa, and increasing its own extraction, Kaczynski said.
President Kaczynski also sai, that Poland had no clue why the Russian Main Military Prosecutor's Office had failed to find evidence leading it to acknowledge that the Polish officers executed in the Katyn Forest near Russia's Smolensk in 1940 were victims of political reprisals and will demand that Russia turn over copies of all archive documents on the Katyn Massacre.
"It is difficult to imagine and take it calmly that the victims of the Katyn crime have not been recognized as victims of political reprisals. We understand that this is still a complicated legal issue for some. But the facts on this issue are unambiguous and undisputable," Kaczynski said.
The Polish public and the families of the victims were outraged by the Russian Main Prosecutor's Office's decision, he said.
Poland will insist that it be given copies of all documents related to the case, Kaczynski said. "It would be really difficult for us to resign ourselves to the decision that the documents concerning the tragic events that took place 66 years ago are still secret. The best sons of the Polish people, defenders of their homeland, were slain then. I believe that cooperation on this issue [with Russia] will be possible," the Polish leader said.
Poland will seek to clarify "the fates of all Polish citizens whose lives were taken based on decisions by the supreme Soviet authorities of March 5, 1940, find out their names and their burial sites, and have the crime committed against them appropriately qualified in legal terms," Kaczynski said, adding that he expects assistance and businesslike cooperation from Russia in this issue.
"We expect that the Katyn issue will be brought to a conclusion, but we need to know the whole truth, because it is the only thing that can become a fundament of our bilateral relations and positive ties between the Poles and the Russians," Kaczynski said.
Over 4,000 Polish officers interned in the USSR in 1939 were executed in the Katyn Forest, near Smolensk, in the spring of 1940. The mass grave was discovered by Nazi Germany troops in 1943. Moscow refused to recognize its role in the massacre until 1990, when it officially admitted the involvement of the NKVD, the Soviet security police, in the Katyn events. as md
Polish president also stated that Polish authorities would like to see Ukraine and Georgia in NATO and the EU as soon as possible.
"It is hard to talk about the possible terms, there are no rules defining the time that has to pass between the filing of the application and its approval in the EU and NATO. But we would like to see Ukraine and Georgia as our partners in both organizations," Kaczynski said.
NATO is working in accordance with the open doors principle - every state that meets certain requirements can apply for membership.
"But the efforts of the interested states themselves will play the decisive role, their commitment to reforms, accepting democratic standards and making certain legislative amendments, as well as the level of public support for integration. We know from our own experience that decisiveness can help eliminate any obstructions from the outside. Meaning it all depends on Ukraine and Georgia," Kaczynski said.
In response to a question about whether Poland intends to deploy U.S. anti-missile defense systems on its territory, Kaczynski said: "Poland has not yet made a decision on joining the anti-missile defense system. analysis and consultations with the U.S. are in progress."
At the same time, Kaczynski said he considered the program "an interesting initiative." "It should help avoid a situation when a weak and unpredictable state would be able to blackmail us and our allies with weapons of mass destruction. We would like to rule out that possibility," Kaczynski said.
Good approach, although none of this changes the fact that Russians are amoral scumbags...
Lech Kaczynski: Poland wants "pragmatic dialogue" with Russia ==
I see it a drastic change:). At last Poland came to her understandings that the policy of confromtation will lead only to losses.
Read the entire text, not just the headline :-)
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