Poland will use its EU presidency to put pressure on Ukraine regarding Volyn tragedy - mass media
In January 2025, Poland will hold the presidency of the EU Council. At this time, the country's Foreign Ministry plans to use Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU as a lever of influence on Kyiv in the issue of exhuming the victims of the Volyn tragedy.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Polish edition Onet, citing interlocutors in the department.
As noted, from January 2025, Poland will chair the EU Council. This will give it an important role in negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the bloc.
Sources said that Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski advised President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resolve historical issues with Poland now, as "it will be less burdensome than during future negotiations on EU accession". However, according to the source, "Zelenskyy did not get it" at a recent meeting in Kyiv.
Disputes over the Volyn tragedy
The position of Ukrainian politicians on the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy is causing disappointment in Warsaw, so the Polish Foreign Ministry is "planning concrete actions," Onet notes.
It is stated that the country's Foreign Ministry "plans to use Ukraine's European integration aspirations as an instrument of pressure on Kyiv in the coming months".
"Now it will be Ukrainians who will turn to us on various issues. They are already doing so. For example, they would like Poland to open all the negotiating sections at the same time during its presidency. This would be unprecedented and very difficult," the source said.
In addition, Ukrainian politicians believe that the accession process can go quickly through simplified EU procedures after the start of Russian aggression. However, at this stage, this does not correspond to reality, and Kyiv needs Warsaw's support in this process, the publication notes.
"We will help them if they help us," the Polish Foreign Ministry said.
At the same time, a representative of Polish diplomacy stressed that "military and defense issues will not be a bargaining chip" in negotiations with Ukraine.
Earlier, the media reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surprised the Polish delegation when he did not communicate well with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski during a meeting in Kyiv on 13 September. The atmosphere was tense and "close to a quarrel".
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called on Ukraine to exhume the victims of the Volyn tragedy "before Poland takes tougher measures".
Reference.
It should be noted that the topic of the Volyn tragedy is one of the most controversial in Ukrainian-Polish relations. The views of Kyiv and Warsaw on the causes, responsibility, and number of victims on both sides differ somewhat.
Poland insists that the Ukrainian side is solely responsible for the crimes committed in Volyn in 1943-1945. Ukraine, on the other hand, emphasizes that both sides are responsible and that the apology should be mutual.
