Second meeting of working group of Ukraine and Poland on historical issues is scheduled for January in Lviv - Ministry of Culture
The second meeting of the working group on historical issues in Polish-Ukrainian relations is scheduled for the end of January in Lviv.
This is stated in a joint statement by the Ministers of Culture of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland, published on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.
"The second meeting of the Working Group is scheduled for the end of January 2025 in Lviv. We are convinced that the further work of the group and its results will demonstrate the readiness of both sides to honor the memory of the killed and the dead - Poles on the territory of Ukraine and Ukrainians on the territory of Poland. This work will be carried out in a spirit of mutual respect, openness to dialogue and other values common to both peoples," the statement reads.
The agency recalled that the first meeting of the working group was held in Lviv in December 2024. Then the parties exchanged information on the places that, in the opinion of each of the parties, require priority search and exhumation work, as well as additional attention.
It is noted that the parties are currently analyzing the list, as well as checking the status of previously submitted applications for search and exhumation permits.
"The Ukrainian side has already made the first positive decision to grant permission for exhumation work. The Polish side is also considering Ukrainian proposals," the agency said.
The issue of exhumation of victims of the Volyn tragedy
As reported, in September, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that without resolving the issue of exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine cannot dream of joining the EU. At the same time, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that attempts to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union play into the hands of Vladimir Putin's policy.
During his visit to Warsaw on October 1, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine is ready to discuss with Poland controversial issues of common history, including the Volyn tragedy of 1943-1944.
On October 2, the UINR stated that they plan to conduct search operations for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in 2025. The Institute also stated that it remains open to cooperation with Polish institutions in the field of searching, preserving and caring for the places of memory of Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine, and complained that official inter-institutional mechanisms for resolving problematic issues with the Polish side in the restoration and preservation of places of memory have not been in place for a long time.
Drobovych believes that Ukrainian and Polish officials need to finally move to constructive action "in the problematic issues of exhumation and burials" and proposed a "road map".
On October 4, Poland's Defense Minister reiterated his intention to block Ukraine's accession to the EU until the issue of exhumation and commemoration of the victims of the Volyn tragedy is resolved.
On 26 November, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, after a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, said that Kyiv had assured him that there were no obstacles to the search and exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Ukraine.
On January 11, the Ministry of Culture reported that Ukraine and Poland had exchanged lists of places to search for and exhume the remains of mutual historical conflicts. Kyiv is committed to "positive decisions" on this issue.
