MFA of Ukraine on Nawrocki’s statement: It elicited applause in Kremlin
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected "tendentious and manipulative" statements by Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, who earlier said that he did not see Ukraine as a member of NATO and the EU because of unresolved historical issues.
This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Censor.NET reports.
The ministry emphasized that Nawrocki's comments "depend" on resolving the issues of common history.
"Such statements indicate that the Polish politician puts disingenuous motives above the strategic security interests of his own country, good neighborly Ukrainian-Polish relations, and common values of freedom, democracy, and justice," the commentary reads.
The Ukrainian ministry recalled that the two countries are engaged in a constructive dialogue to honor the memory of Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine.
The ministry called on Polish politicians not to use the topic of "difficult pages of the historical past" in their domestic political struggle.
It is significant that Mr. Nawrocki's statements elicited applause in the Kremlin. It is worth recalling that it is Russia that has been trying to destroy the Ukrainian and Polish states for centuries. Moscow is still investing enormous resources in attempts to destroy Ukrainian-Polish friendship and mutual understanding. It is unacceptable to make statements that play into these enemy's efforts," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry added, Ukraine and Ukrainians "have always been and remain deeply grateful to the Polish government and society for all the sincere and large-scale assistance" in countering Russian aggression, and thanks to this assistance, Ukraine is protecting not only itself but also the entire region and the whole of Europe from the "aggressive and expansionist" regime of the Russian Federation.
"Whatever the statements of the Polish politician, the reality is that Ukraine is already a de facto and will become a de jure part of the Euro-Atlantic family of nations and the common European security architecture," the foreign ministry summarized.
Earlier, Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki said that he does not see Ukraine in either NATO or the EU unless Kyiv takes responsibility for the Volyn tragedy of 1943.
