2019-08-31 18:05 update: 2019-09-04, 13:01
Polish and Ukrainian Presidents Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelensky held talks in Warsaw on Saturday which concerned historical policy and the continuation of exhumation works on graves of Polish victims of massacres in Ukraine during WWII.
President Zelensky paid his first visit to Warsaw after his being sworn-in. He is also scheduled to take part in Warsaw observances of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, on Sunday.
During the meeting, Duda assured Zelensky that he could count on his support when it comes to sovereignty, independence and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. "Ukraine must come back to the territorial integrity it had before 2014," Duda said.
The Ukrainian President said Ukraine wants to become an active member of various formats, such as the Three Seas Initiative.
With regard to historical policy, President Duda emphasised the necessity to conduct exploratory and exhumation works in Ukraine.
There has been a dispute between Warsaw and Kiev since the spring of 2017, after Ukraine banned all exhumations of Volhynia massacre victims carried out by Poland in Ukraine following the removal of a memorial to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in Hruszowice, south-eastern Poland.
"We would like relations to be normalised in this field (exhumations - PAP), and I told President Zelensky that there is only one way to achieve this, by commemorating every person who died or was murdered, for them to regain their name and surname, to have their own gravestone, or to be named on plaques marking the sites of mass graves," Duda said.
The Polish president observed that the exhumation works have to be conducted if these assumptions are to be realised. "President (Zelensky - PAP) told me that his new government is being formed now, but he promised me this matter will be resolved," he added.
Zelensky said that he held "very genuine talks" with President Duda. He added that a "possible situation of tense relations" could be very "beneficial" for their enemies.
"We agreed to renew and reset the bilateral working group, which will operate under the patronage of the Polish and Ukrainian presidents, so that all the dark sides of our past would not cause interruptions in building a common, bright future, which I very much believe in," Zelensky noted.
"I am prepared to lift the moratorium on exhumation works in Ukraine, and the Polish side will sort out the Ukrainian remembrance sites in Poland," Zelensky said. He also raised the idea of a "joint memorial site of reconciliation" at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Zelensky said he was pleased that trade between Poland and Ukraine is increasing. "Poland is our second economic partner in the European Union, that is why we expect the active dialogue of our governments," he added.
The Ukrainian president observed that Saturday's talks also concerned energy security. The "Nord Stream 2 (gas pipeline - PAP) is not acceptable and it is a threat to the whole of Europe," Zelensky added. (PAP)
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