Poland intends to pressure Ukraine during its six-month presidency of the European Union in order to resolve “historical issues”. The Onet portal quoted its sources as saying.
“The diplomatic department (of Poland. – ed.) plans to use Ukraine’s EU aspirations as an instrument of pressure on Kiev in the coming months,” the report said.
The portal stressed that on 13 September in Kiev Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. During the meeting, which took place in a “tense atmosphere”, the Polish diplomat urged the Ukrainian politician to urgently resolve “historical issues” with Warsaw, as now they will have to “pay a lower price” than during the EU accession negotiations.
The publication emphasises that the issue in question is, above all, the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn massacre. Kiev has not given its consent to their carrying out, which Warsaw seeks, for many years; this issue remains “one of the biggest problems in the relationship” between the two sides.
“Ukrainian politicians seem to think they will be able to hold the talks in a short time, because they were lightning-fast in some stages after the Russian invasion. But it won’t work that way now. Kiev needs Warsaw’s commitment to EU accession. And that’s where there’s an opportunity for conversation. We will help them if they help us,” said an unnamed source in the Polish Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Ukraine would not become a member of the European Union until it resolves all the issues related to the Volyn massacre with the Polish side.
