Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs: Poland wants to settle historic argument with Ukraine
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz said after a meeting with a top Estonian diplomat in Warsaw that he would like to see a historic argument between Poland and Ukraine settled, according to a report by Radio Liberty.
Czaputowicz said Poland realizes the concerns the Ukrainian authorities have about a new amendment to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance (INR) of Poland. The foreign minister also said he hoped the argument would be settled at a meeting next week between the deputy prime ministers of Poland and Ukraine.
“I hope this meeting will take place. It has at least been confirmed so far. We’ve planned a discussion about historic relations between our countries and we also want to receive permission from Ukrainian authorities for exhumation works,” the minister said.
Last year Ukraine did not allow the INR to conduct exhumation work in the Ukrainian territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland in turn banned a number of Ukrainian officials responsible for the country’s historic policy entry to Poland.
On February 6, President of Poland Andrzej Duda signed off controversial amendments to the INR law that envisage, inter alia, punishment for denying the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists. The Polish President endorsed the amended law but nonetheless handed it to the Constitutional Court for examination.
The most notorious provisions of the law envisage criminal responsibility for denying crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists along with fines and prison time for publicly stating that the Poles were involved in the crimes of Holocaust.