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Post by Bonobo on Sept 7, 2010 20:40:13 GMT 1
I'm afraid the vast terriotories in the East are impossible to keep this way or another. So, you are rather pessimistic about Russia`s future. I recalled my discussions in the Russian Forum once. I warned Justawoman about Chinese expansion into Russian territory. She said she didn`t mind because Russian-Chinese children born today are already so cute... ;D ;D ;D ;D It is possible that Russia, angry at and disillusioned with haughty Europe, will choose the Asian direction.... |
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Post by tufta on Sept 8, 2010 8:39:43 GMT 1
I'm afraid the vast terriotories in the East are impossible to keep this way or another. So, you are rather pessimistic about Russia`s future. I recalled my discussions in the Russian Forum once. I warned Justawoman about Chinese expansion into Russian territory. She said she didn`t mind because Russian-Chinese children born today are already so cute... ;D ;D ;D ;D It is possible that Russia, angry at and disillusioned with haughty Europe, will choose the Asian direction.... I am not pessimistic  Pessimists think Russia will implode, undergo a demographic -health-economic catastrophe as soon as the easily accessible raw materials end. I sure wouldn't wish such a scenario, neither for the Russians nor for their direct or close neighbours, as Poland is. Choosing Chinese direction - don't we all have to choose this direcction, we already do, in line with Chineese economy's size growing. |
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 15, 2010 21:11:04 GMT 1
Tufta, hard chances for a change. ;D ;D ;D ;D it is like one step forward, and two backwards. Russians will never forgive us organizing this Chechen Congress in Poland... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Russia concerned over Chechen congress in Poland
15.09.2010 09:21
Russia has conveyed its unease at the Chechen Nation World Congress to be staged in Poland on 16-18 September.
The Russian ambassador to Poland Aleksander Alekseyev warned suspected terrorists would be taking part.
“Russia has an extremely negative attitude towards such events,” said Alekseyev adding that Ahmed Zakayev, head of the Chechen government-in-exile and who is accused by Russians of terrorism, will participate at the congress.
The Russian ambassador also confirmed that President Dmitry Medvedev will pay an official visit to Poland this year. Alekseyev said that Russia hopes the talks to be “very substantial.”
Poland’s Foreign Ministry is preparing a set of agreements that will be signed for the heads of the two countries.
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Polish authorities seem to be intent on avoiding Russian anger.....
Polish arrest warning for top Chechen rebel Zakayev
Leading Chechen rebel Akhmed Zakayev has been warned by Poland that he faces arrest on a Russian warrant if he visits the country this week.
Mr Zakayev, who has been living in the UK since receiving political asylum in 2003, says he means to attend a Chechen congress opening in Poland on Thursday.
Russia regards him as a terrorist and has an international warrant lodged against him through Interpol.
Poland has been among the fiercest critics of Russian policy in Chechnya.
But relations between Warsaw and Moscow improved this year after Russia's sensitive handling of the Polish air disaster on its territory, which killed President Lech Kaczynski and other top officials.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to visit Poland before the end of this year, at the invitation of the new Polish President, Bronislaw Komorowski.
'Obligation to detain'
"Mr Zakayev is the object of an international arrest warrant issued by the Russian Federation," Mateusz Martyniuk, spokesman for Poland's chief prosecutor, told AFP news agency on Wednesday, confirming Russian media reports.
"The warrant automatically requires all Interpol member states to arrest the person for whom the warrant is issued.
"If Mr Zakayev comes to Poland, even though he is not wanted by our country, the police still have the obligation to detain him and bring him before public prosecutors and a court that will rule on his eventual extradition."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
I am going to go there, yes”
End Quote Akhmed Zakayev Former Chechen rebel culture minister
On Tuesday, Russia's new ambassador to Poland, Alexander Alexeyev, said Moscow would seek Mr Zakayev's extradition if he visited for the three-day World Chechen Congress.
At the time, a spokesman for Poland's foreign ministry, Marcin Bosacki, said the ministry was aware of "no legal grounds to refuse entry to Poland to Akhmed Zakayev".
Visa
Mr Zakayev has served as a representative of the Chechen rebel government in the West since it was ousted by Russian military action in 2000.
The former rebel culture minister is accused by Russia of armed rebellion, murder and kidnapping.
He told Moscow independent radio station Ekho Moskvy on Wednesday that he had received a visa to go to Poland.
"I am going to go there, yes," he said.
"If there is a problem with me coming to Warsaw, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should have denied a visa to me and all conversations should have ended there."
The Chechen congress is expected by its organisers to attract some 200 delegates from the Chechen diaspora.
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Post by tufta on Sept 16, 2010 8:01:39 GMT 1
Tufta, hard chances for a change. ;D ;D ;D ;D it is like one step forward, and two backwards. Russians will never forgive us organizing this Chechen Congress in Poland... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Russia concerned over Chechen congress in Poland
15.09.2010 09:21
Don't be a pessimist, Bo It is like one step forward, and one backwards ;D ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 16, 2010 19:13:33 GMT 1
Tufta, hard chances for a change. ;D ;D ;D ;D it is like one step forward, and two backwards. Russians will never forgive us organizing this Chechen Congress in Poland... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Russia concerned over Chechen congress in Poland
15.09.2010 09:21
Don't be a pessimist, Bo It is like one step forward, and one backwards ;D ;D Sorry but I judge things through a Russian perspective. ;D ;D ;D ;D For us this one step is really one, for Russians it is two!!! Don`t you know how delicate they are? |
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 21, 2010 21:46:26 GMT 1
Graffiti scrawled on Red Army monument near Warsaw
21.09.2010 11:30
Graffiti by Smolensk cross protestors has been scrawled on a monument dedicated to Soviet Red Army soldiers who died in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw.
Katyn 2010” and “Bronek [Bronislaw Komorowski] – we won’t forgive you the removal of the cross” appeared in red paint on the monument to 25,000 Red Army soldiers who died in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw in Osssow, near the Polish capital.
The graffiti refers to a cross dedicated to victims of the Smolensk air disaster, which was removed from outside of the Presidential Palace last week.
“I feel ashamed. We’ve already informed the Prosecutor’s Office about the incident. It’s a disgusting way of bringing politics to the graves,” Piotr Wyszynski from Ossow town hall told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
On 15 August, just before the scheduled official unveiling of the monument by President Komorowski and the Russian ambassador in Poland, a demonstration was staged with red stars painted on the memorial. Because of the protest the unveiling ceremony was postponed.
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 29, 2010 21:45:10 GMT 1
A war with Russia is imminent.... BTW, Kaczyński is a real trickster. During the presidential campaign, he videoed a speech directed to Russians, calling them brothers and declaring the policy of love and peace. Doesn`t he realise that his behaviour will only further enhance the stereotype image of a Pole in Russia? Of a liar, cheater and impostor?  Kaczynski - US, EU should get tough with Russia
29.09.2010 15:07
In an unprecedented move for a leader of an opposition party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski has written to 738 members of the European parliament (MEPs) and dozens of ambassadors worldwide, urging them to help block an expansion of Russia’s influence abroad.
The letter by the leader of the Law and Justice party says the European Union and the United States should oppose Russia extending its economic and political zone of influence.
Washington and Russia should also give greater assistance to countries that want to free themselves from the Russian sphere of influence.
In his letter - the existence of which was confirmed to TVP public television by MEP Ryszard Karnack - Jaroslaw Kaczynski analyses Poland’s foreign policy in recent years, with particular emphasis on what his late twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski and the Law and Justice led coalition government which he led from 2005 -7.
The letter was sent to ambassadors of all EU member states, plus the United States, Canada, Israel, Switzerland, Norway, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
Kaczynski has fiercely criticised both President Bronislaw Komorowski and the ruling Civic Platform party led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk for what he sees as amounting to appeasement of Russia in Poland’s foreign policy. (pg)
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Post by Bonobo on Oct 1, 2010 20:27:08 GMT 1
Poland eyeing Russian food market
01.10.2010 13:58
Agriculture minister Marek Sawicki is confident Poland will reclaim food export levels to Russia following meat and dairy bans.
Minister Sawicki, who is in Moscow for the “Golden Autumn” fair, drew attention to Poland’s potential in agricultural production and food processing, evidenced in 4 billion euro worth of exports annually to the highly demanding German market.
At the same time the value of Polish exports to Russia amounts to slightly more than 500 million euro, he said.
Polish meat companies are slowly regaining access to Russian clients, which had stopped as a result of a several month Russian embargo on Polish products. Marek Sawicki pointed to some still existing problems in imports of Polish farming produce because Russian sanitary rules in this field are even more stringent than EU norms adhered to by Polish companies.
Minister Sawicki also met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Elena Skrynik with whom he discussed potential areas of expanding bilateral trade in agricultural produce.
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Post by Bonobo on Nov 10, 2010 21:24:21 GMT 1
Pres Komorowski presses for Polish-Russian reconciliation
09.11.2010 07:28
Ahead of President Medvedev’s visit to Poland at the beginning of December, Bronislaw Komorowski has voiced his wishes to “improve Polish-Russian relations as much as possible.”
“In Poland it is sure that we would like [Medvedev’s visit] to mark a clear perspective for Polish-Russian reconciliation,” President Komorowski told journalist Tomasz Lis on TVP, Poland’s public broadcaster.
In the interview, Bronislaw Komorowski stated that Poland had successfully reconciled with both Germany and the Ukraine, the country’s largest neighbours, and now reconciliation with Russia should be undertaken “without naivety,” stating that he sees his presidency as a chance for such reconciliation efforts.
“We managed to reconcile with the Germans, we managed to reconcile with the Ukrainians, we have managed to reconcile with almost all of Poland’s most important neighbours, so now it is now Russia’s turn, albeit without naivety. I see my presidency as a chance for such reconciliation efforts.”
During President Medvedev’s visit, Komorowski has announced that he wants to raise the issue of common remembrance and commemorate the victims of the Smolensk catastrophe also in Russia.
“This would be an important and symbolic move which would show that we are closer together also in terms of the drama that was caused by the Smolensk catastrophe, because it was a Polish plane with Polish state delegates, yet it happened on Russian soil,” Komorowski said.
President Dmitry Medvedev is to arrive in Poland on 6 December.
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 6, 2010 22:15:38 GMT 1
Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Bronislaw Komorowski hailed a “new chapter’ in the often fraught and bitter relations between Poland and Russia at a press conference in Warsaw, Monday. “We’ve opened a new, good chapter in Polish-Russian relations, in a book that both nations have been writing for a thousand years,” said President Komorowski after a couple of hours of talks at the Presidential Palace. Both politicians were eager to talk of the future, with new trade deals and bilateral agreements between Warsaw and Moscow. But President Medvedev was also keen to emphasise that Russia was no longer stuck in a Cold War mentality when dealing with its former communist allies. “Recently Russia has taken a series of unprecedented steps, including the Duma’s resolution on the Katyn massacre and declassification of the Katyn files,” said the Russian head of state, touching on what are still raw nerves in Poland. “We will continue taking this path. Russians should know the truth. They should know that many, many Poles and Russians died in the past as a result of repression,” Medvedev added. Russia 'eager to invest' On trade, President Medvedev confirmed that Moscow was interested in the privatisation of the Gdansk-based Grupa Lotos S.A. oil refinery. “Russians are eager to invest in Poland. Russian energy companies, for example, are interested in the privatization of the Lotos group,” he said. “But cooperation can only happen where there is mutual trust.” On the long, drawn out talks over the recently signed gas deal between Poland and Russia Medvedev said that, “Negotiations between Poland and Russia on gas were hard but we managed to take difficult decisions,” though President Komorowski added: “One can only talk about a good deal when both parties are satisfied and see the profits.” Also at the Presidential Palace were Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak and Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina, who both signed an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of ‘economic modernization’. After the talks at the Presidential Palace the Russian president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later, Medvedev and Komorowski took part in a forum devoted to Russian-Polish dialogue. Later in the afternoon President Medvedev had talks with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Russian head of state will leave Warsaw on Tuesday morning.   Demonstration anti   We want truth about air crash               |
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 6, 2010 22:16:21 GMT 1
Eagle and the Bear
06.12.2010 15:07
As President Dmitry Medvedev makes a state visit to Warsaw, Nick Hodge looks at relations between Poland and Russia since communism collapsed at the end of the 1980s.
During the Cold War, Polish-Russian relations were often succinctly characterized by humour. One longstanding joke relates how a son asked his father whether Russia was a brother or a friend.
“A brother,” the father replies, “because you can choose your friends.”
The relationship between Poland and Russia has seen enormous changes in the last twenty years, but the legacy of the Cold War-era continues to colour diplomacy between the two states.
Key factors of recent times include Poland’s entrance into NATO, the campaign for US-backed anti-missile defence shields, the embargo on Polish products imported into Russia, and the handling of painful historical legacies such as the Katyń affair, in which over 22,000 Polish citizens were murdered on Stalin’s orders.
Awkward Beginnings
Poland officially recognized Russia on 27 December 1991. However, a joint Polish-Russian Declaration had already been signed in November 1990.
An immediate concern following the fall of the Iron Curtain was the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Polish territory, a complex process that was finally completed in 1993.
For many Poles, President Yeltsin’s visit to Poland in 1993 appeared to signal a further step forward, when the Russian leader expressed that his country would not oppose Poland’s joining of NATO.
However, on his return to Moscow, Mr. Yeltsin backtracked on his pledge, and Russia published a list of states formally within the Soviet sphere which the Kremlin did not wish to see as part of NATO.
A cooling of relations occurred once again between Poland and Russia.
NATO divides
Poland’s campaign to join NATO continued, with President Aleksander Kwaśniewski taking the matter up on his visit to Moscow in 1996.
Attempts to facilitate a harmonious accession were not successful, and diplomatic relations continued to be fractious. Russia expressed regret when Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary finally joined the NATO fold in April 1999. In Poland the accession was regarded as a triumph.
Kwaśniewski’s subsequent visit to Moscow in 2000 appeared more positive in terms of a diplomatic reconciliation. After the trip, new Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared that ‘the ice has started to melt.’
Putin’s visit to Poland in 2002, in which the Russian leader laid wreaths at monuments to victims of Soviet repression, also seemed to bode well for more sanguine relations.
However, Poland’s decisive support of the ‘Orange Revolution’ in Ukraine in 2004 – a movement that seemed designed to switch Ukrainian alliances from Russia to the West – caused Polish-Russian relations to sour again.
The following year, further bad blood was created when Mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński named a roundabout in honour of Chechen rebel leader Djokhar Dudayev. This fractiousness was echoed in 2008 with Polish support for Georgia during the latter’s armed conflict with Russia, with Poland now under Kaczyński ‘s presidency.
The Polish campaign for an anti-missile defence shield manned by American forces caused ongoing concern in Moscow. Sentiments to the effect that the shield was to defend Poland against Iran were treated with cynicism by the Kremlin.
Although the signed agreement between Poland and the U.S. in August 2008 was ultimately reneged on by America when President Barack Obama came to power, Russian-Polish relations remained frosty.
Ice starts to thaw?
Ironically, it was the air tragedy in Smolensk in April 2010 that prompted a significant thaw in Polish relations. The loss of almost 100 prominent Polish citizens, during an event that was supposed to commemorate Soviet crimes against Poland relating to the Katyń murders, prompted denouncements of Stalin’s legacy by Russian politicians in the Kremlin.
President Medvedev’s attendance of President Kaczyński’s funeral this year in Krakow was warmly received, paving the way for this week’s official state visit. In Kaczyński’s unread address – published posthumously - for the Katyń memorial ceremony, the Pole had written of the need ‘to proceed on the road that is bringing our two nations closer to one another.’
Mutual suspicion still exists between the two countries, but a recent survey revealed that the majority of Poles see Mr. Medvedev’s visit as a positive development.
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 6, 2010 22:17:31 GMT 1
Medvedev visit seen as ‘positive’ by Poles
05.12.2010 14:32
According to 93 percent of Poles, Monday’s visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Warsaw will have a positive bearing on relations between the two countries.
A poll by the Homo Homini Institute for Polish Radio reveals that 20 percent of those who express such an opinion expect that the impact of the presiential visit will be very positive.
Asked whether the visit is likely to bring about a change in Polish-Russian relations, 62 percent of respondents gave a ‘yes’ answer, whereas 28 percent of Poles do not expect any change in the wake of Medvedev’s visit, the first by a Russian President to Poland in eight years.
In the same survey, Poles were asked about the neighbouring nations that are viewed with the greatest sympathy. The citizens of the Czech Republic come first – with 39 percent, followed by Slovaks, Germans, Lithuanians, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Donald Tusk (pictured left) has said that Russian President Medvedev’s visit to Poland reflects the current improvement in Polish-Russian relations.
Talking to journalists in Sopot on the Baltic coast, he said that “talks are always better than silence or an insipid conflict.” It is a good thing, he added, that Poland and Russia can talk despite different interests and sometimes divergent views.
Asked about a public hearing this week in the European Parliament relating to the Smolensk air crash, Mr Tusk said it is difficult to predict whether it could help in the on-going investigation into the causes of the tragedy. He went on to stress, however, that “the more transparency the better.”
PM Tusk said he was happy that the families of the victims of the crash of the Polish presidential plane are getting more information from the prosecutor’s office. Mr Tusk himself will have another meeting with the families next Saturday. (mk/jb)
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 16, 2010 22:33:18 GMT 1
Russia, Seeking to Modernize, Showers West with Smiles
Jim Brooke | Moscow 15 December 2010
Russia spent much of 2010 trying to mend fences with the West. It settled a big border dispute with Norway, and normalized relations with Ukraine, after a pro-Kremlin leader took over. But Russia's biggest change is with two big adversaries: Poland and the United States.
The men in the Kremlin do not smile easily. Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev banged his shoe at the United Nations. Andrei Gromyko, Soviet foreign minister, was known in the West as "Grim Grom" or "Mr. Nyet."
But this spring, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, unveiled a new look – a friendly face to the West. He told a European reporter: "I would like to see Russia smiling, and taking the face of a young, modern person."
Oil was on its way back to $90 a barrel. But foreign investment had not returned after Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia. Russia's group of allies – Belarus, North Korea, Venezuela and Zimbabwe – was lampooned as 'the losers' club.'
China and Russia switched economic places. Konstantin von Eggert, a Moscow political analyst, increasingly hears Russians worrying about China's relentless rise.
"Another factor is the growth of Chinese economic and political and military might on Russia's borders," said von Eggert. "China squeezes Russia out of Central Asia. It increasingly shows that Russia is its junior partner."
Modernizing alliances
Russia's leadership took a hard look at failed efforts to restore superpower glory. Downsizing ambitions, they chose a pragmatic slogan – "modernizing alliances."
Carnegie Moscow Center Director Dmitri Trenin is writing a book that explores 'post-imperial Russia'
"What Russian leaders has also done is essentially tell the foreign ministry people that simply supporting a crumbling image, a crumbling façade of Russia, the great power, was not enough," Trenin said. "So the mission of Russia's foreign policy was to reach out to countries that could be external modernization sources for Russia."
Russians complain that China sees Russia as a raw materials supplier. In contrast, Europe sees Russia as a frontier for industrial investment. But two obstacles can block full European cooperation – the United States and Poland.
Mutual cooperation
Moscow's reset with Washington is real.
It survives challenges Russian officials once called "provokatsiyii."
The unveiling of a Russian spy ring three days after President Medvedev's visit to Washington last summer; the deportation from Bangkok to New York of Russian arms dealer Victor Bout; and the post-election surge in Republican opposition to the New START treaty.
Keeping an eye on the prize, Russia cancelled the sale of anti-aircraft missiles that were to protect Iranian nuclear facilities. In return, Washington helps Russia enter the World Trade Organization, an event expected to bring more foreign investment. Washington protects Russia's southern flank by bolstering Afghanistan and keeping radical Islam from spilling into Central Asia.
"The Russian political class, Russian leadership, imagine with horror – with creeping horror – what's going to happen when the international coalition headed by the United States pulls out of Afghanistan," said von Eggert. "Russia has porous borders with Central Asia, and if there is a Taliban spillover into places like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan or Uzbekistan, that is going to hit Russia very badly."
Better relations with Washington unlock American investment for Russia. Pepsi is buying Russia's largest dairy and juice company – the largest acquisition ever by a U.S. company in Russia.
Stumbling block
Poland also blocked full Russian access to European Union.
A big stumbling block was Katyn, the Russian forest where Stalin's secret police murdered thousands of Polish prisoners during World War II. On April 7, the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reached out to Poland, praying with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a memorial in Katyn.
Three days later, tragedy stuck. A Polish government plane carrying the nation's president and 95 other dignitaries crashed in fog near Katyn. President Medvedev persevered with the outreach, attending the funeral in Warsaw, opening the crash investigation to Polish participation, and engineering a Russian parliament vote officially blaming for Stalin for Katyn.
Then last week, President Medvedev turned his wide smile on the Poles in a state visit to Warsaw, the first by a Russian in almost a decade.
He decorated Poland's anti-Soviet film director Andrzej Wajda with the Russian People's Order of Friendship. Wajda's 2007 film, Katyn is about the World War massacre, which took the life of his father, a Polish cavalry officer.
Courting the West
After the ups and downs of 2010, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin are sticking to courting the West. Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst, cautions that it will take years to erode mutual mistrust.
"This reset of relations with Poland is going very nicely on the public relations kind of part of it," Felgenhauer said. "In the basics the relations are still very edgy."
But with China rising fast in the east, Russia is determined to shore up its ties in the west.
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 19, 2011 21:48:40 GMT 1
Poles never felt more positive towards Russians, says poll
18.01.2011 09:18
Over the last two decades Poles say their attitude towards Russians has changed for the better, while positive feelings towards Americans has declined, finds a new survey.
According to the CBOS pollsters, back in 1993, while most respondents felt positive to Americans society, Poles were less enthusiastic towards Russians.
In 1993, 56 percent said they had an unfavourable attitude towards Russians, where as today, a little over a third expressed such sentiments.
Over the same period, however, Poles say they have become less favouarble towards Americans, with a positive rating dropping from 62 to 43 percent.
The CBOS study reveals that the most distinct changes in the approach towards US nationals occurred in 2004, the year of the United States’ intervention in Iraq: the number of Poles expressing positive feelings towards the American citizens declined to 45 percent.
Meanwhile, feelings today towards Russians have never been more positive, with 2010 seen as marking a breakthrough in bilateral ties.
The longitudinal survey, entitled Current Problems and Events, was conducted on a representative sample of 1,000 adults.
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Post by valpomike on Jan 20, 2011 0:26:39 GMT 1
The feelings towards the Americans is due to this President, and we don't like him either. He will be a only one term, and that's to much.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 30, 2016 14:00:54 GMT 1
Poland and US 'actors in the same operetta': Russian Foreign Ministry
30.01.2016 11:59
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Washington and Warsaw play to the same tune on foreign policy, commenting Friday's roadmap announcement by Poland's foreign minister.
Maria Zakharova during the press conference on Friday.
The comments followed a key speech in the Polish parliament by Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, outlining the government's foreign policy plans. These included greater cooperation with the European Union and NATO.
Poland has been working hard to strengthen NATO's presence on the alliance's eastern flank following Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
“Warsaw, in this case accepts these messages, sent from Washington,” Zakharova told journalists in the Kremlin on Friday.
“The US and Poland are like actors in the same operetta,” Zakharova said.
“We are ready to develop economic and political relations [with these two countries]. We are ready to resolve the toughest issues related to our history. But this is a constructive process,” the spokeswoman said.
“There is another solution – to live in constant fear, anxiety, and uncertainty; get worked up over these signals from across the ocean, and live in a constant state of emergency," Zhakarova said. "Poland can choose.”- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/238705,Poland-and-US-actors-in-the-same-operetta-Russian-Foreign-Ministry#sthash.89L9Qygj.dpuf
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Post by pjotr on Feb 22, 2016 23:40:01 GMT 1
 Polish president claims Russia 'seeking' new Cold War20.02.2016 13:02President of Poland Andrzej Duda has argued that Russia is 'seeking' a new Cold War through its activities in Ukraine and Syria. President Andrzej Duda. Duda made the claims in an interview with Reuters news agency in reference to Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev's assertion that NATO is “ hostile” to Russia and that East-West relations are descending into a new Cold War. “ If Mr Medvedev talks about a Cold War, then looking at Russian actions, it is clear who is seeking a new Cold War,” Duda said. “ If someone is undertaking aggressive military activities in Ukraine and Syria, if someone is bolstering his military presence near his neighbours ... then we have an unequivocal answer regarding who wants to start a new Cold War. Certainly, it is not Poland or the NATO alliance.” (nh) |
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 9, 2016 21:52:56 GMT 1
Polish FM: Russia 'distorting' truth about removal of Soviet monuments
06.04.2016 09:10
Poland's foreign ministry has stated that Russian claims about the dismantling of Soviet monuments in Poland are a “distortion” of the truth.
'The Statue of Gratefulness to the Red Army' in Mielec, southern Poland. prior to its removal in November 2015. Photo: wikimedia commons/kroton'The Statue of Gratefulness to the Red Army' in Mielec, southern Poland. prior to its removal in November 2015.
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov said at the Kremlin on Tuesday that Poland is “leading the race” in Europe “in an attack on monuments [commemorating] Soviet citizens who died in the fight against Nazism.”
Lavrov stated that over the past twelve months, Poland “has profaned or illegally dismantled 30 monuments that symbolize not only the liberating mission of the Red Army, but also Soviet-Polish brotherhood.”
He made the comments during a session of a committee marking the 71st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, a meeting attended by President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
However, in a subsequent statement, Poland's foreign ministry argued that local authorities have every right to dismantle the types of monuments that have been removed thus far.
The ministry noted that a February 1994 Polish-Russian agreement “regarding burial and memorial grounds concerns exclusively war cemeteries,” and that such sites have not been altered.
“In Poland there are 1,875 cemeteries and cemetery sections where Russian and Soviet soldiers are buried.
“All of them are under the protection and care of state authorities and are being maintained and repaired by the Polish state.
“In recent years Poland has allocated close to PLN 14 million for this purpose.”
However, the ministry stressed that “the aforementioned agreement does not, however, apply to the so-called symbolic monuments, which are solely manifestations of communist domination of Polish territory in the years 1945-1989.”
The ministry noted that such monuments, several hundred of which exist in Poland, are under the administation of local authorities, which are entitled to remove them if they see fit.
In this regard, the ministry argued, Lavrov's comments send a “dishonest message concerning this issue... based on a distortion” of the legal realities.
Soviet memorials on Polish soil remain controversial as the liberation of Nazi-occupied Poland by the Red Army towards the end of World War II led to the installation of a Moscow-backed communist regime in Warsaw that endured until 1989.- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/247515,Polish-FM-Russia-distorting-truth-about-removal-of-Soviet-monuments#sthash.XcqItcG5.dpuf
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Post by Bonobo on May 8, 2016 22:33:22 GMT 1
Tit for tat
Russia threatens to deploy nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad: report
08.05.2016 08:20
Russia has threatened to mount nuclear warheads on new Iskander missiles and base them in its Kaliningrad exclave bordering Poland, according to an article in the New York Times.
The report comes as NATO is expected to beef up its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.
The New York Times said some officials in NATO countries, including in Poland, “believe that Moscow already has nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, and will wait to announce that deployment in response to an operational [NATO European] missile defense, or as Moscow’s riposte” to a July NATO summit to be held in Warsaw.
The NYT “Letter from Europe” article said the Western military alliance is planning to deploy four combat battalions of around 1,000 soldiers each in Poland and the three Baltic States.
Two of the battalions are likely to be American, one German and one British, the article said, adding that Washington would add a third combat brigade in Europe.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter recently said that NATO is considering deploying some 4,000 troops on a rotating basis to strengthen the alliance’s eastern flank.- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/251857,Russia-threatens-to-deploy-nuclear-missiles-in-Kaliningrad-report#sthash.e3moaf6u.dpuf |
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 28, 2016 14:45:30 GMT 1
Russians declared that they would have to reconsider their European strategic planning after Poland bought long range missiles from US.
Poland, US sign PLN 940 mln defence deal
25.12.2016 07:34
Poland will buy extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM-ER) worth PLN 940 million (EUR 213 million), the Polish defence ministry's spokesman said on Saturday.
“In recent days an agreement between representatives of Poland and the United States was signed, guaranteeing the supply to Poland of JASSM Extended Range missiles … with a range of close to 1000 kilometres,” the spokesman Bartłomiej Misiewicz said.
The US Department of Defence's Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement that it agreed to the supply of 70 of the Lockheed Martin manufactured missiles, eight training missiles and a simulator.
According to the PAP news wire, Poland plans to buy 40 missiles.
The air-to-surface missiles will arm Poland's F-16 fighter planes, also supplied by Lockheed Martin.
Poland is reportedly the first international client for the JASSM-ER missiles.
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 16, 2018 20:36:39 GMT 1
www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/394867,Moscow-summons-Polish-ambassador-over-TV-studio-set-design-report
Moscow summons Polish ambassador over TV studio set design: report
30.11.2018 16:20
The Polish ambassador in Moscow has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry over a television studio set design featuring the infamous Nazi SS symbol, a news website reported on Friday.
Still from the "Minęła 20" current-affairs programme aired by TVP Info. Image: niezalezna.pl/twitter.com/WojciechKorkucStill from the "Minęła 20" current-affairs programme aired by TVP Info. Image: niezalezna.pl/twitter.com/WojciechKorkuc
The ambassador, Włodzimierz Marciniak, was called to the foreign ministry in Moscow after Polish public television broadcaster TVP Info used a set design featuring the Nazi symbol in reference to Russia in a current-affairs programme it aired on Wednesday, the niezalezna.pl website reported.
It cited the press office of the Polish foreign ministry as confirming that the Polish ambassador "has been invited" to the Russian foreign ministry in connection with the graphic design displayed when a programme entitled Minęła 20 (After Eight) was broadcast by the TVP Info station.
According to niezalezna.pl, Russia’s Sputnik news service, the “propaganda mouthpiece of the Kremlin,” has accused the journalist hosting the programme, Michał Rachoń, of insulting Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.
'Achtung Russia!'
The design featured the words "Achtung Russia!" and used the infamous Nazi SS symbol in the word “Russia,” the website reported.
It cited journalist Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of conservative Polish weekly Gazeta Polska, as saying that a poster on which the set design was based has been "known to the media" in Poland for four years.
“So why commotion now?” niezalezna.pl inquires.
According to Sakiewicz, the "Achtung Russia" design was based on a poster by Polish designer Wojciech Korkuć that was previously shown by various television broadcasters and at many exhibitions.
The motif has also been used on T-shirts, Sakiewicz told niezalezna.pl.
'Completely incomprehensible'
“It is completely incomprehensible why the Russians have decided to take offence just now,” Sakiewicz said. “Probably Russia … needs a worsening in relations with Poland to create a sense of general threat.”
He added that “Putin apparently needs that, hence the standoff with Ukraine, hence the stirring up of things that did not previously cause such a reaction.”
Sakiewicz also suggested that Putin might be interested in creating tensions in relations with some of Russia’s neighbours in the near future for the sake of “some external power play.”
“It seems that this is an attempt to create a diplomatic conflict with Poland,” Sakiewicz claimed.
He also suggested that Russia has decided to use the TVP Info programme as an excuse to “worsen relations with Poland” and might be tempted to look for further excuses in other areas.
(gs/pk)
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 21, 2018 7:52:43 GMT 1
Polish president claims Russia 'seeking' new Cold War
Former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told DW why he sees Russia as a threat to European stability – and why he supports a possible US military presence in Poland.
Watch video 23:37
Radoslaw Sikorski talks to DW's Zhanna Nemtsova
Radoslaw Sikorski, the former Polish foreign and defense minister, explains in an interview with DW's Zhanna Nemtsova why the current right-conservative Polish government is against the Kremlin and expresses his full support for the deployment of the American military base in Poland, which President Andrzej Duda has already suggested calling Fort Trump.
Zhanna Nemtsova: The current Polish government demonstrates a tough anti-Kremlin line and accuses the previous government for underestimating the risks that could come from Russia.
Radoslaw Sikorski: I worked for a more pragmatic relationship with Russia and we had some successes. We established an area of visa-free travel between the Kaliningrad Oblast [Editor's note: Kaliningrad Region is a Russian federal subject, an exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania] and the relevant part of Poland. President Putin came to Gdansk for the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War and he was the first Russian leader to visit Katyn, where the Soviet NKVD murdered in cold blood 20,000 Polish prisoners of war.
We thought that we were establishing a more normal relationship between neighbors. But three things intervened: Russia's invasion of Crimea, the fact that Russia no longer wanted to be on a convergence course with the West (until about 2011-2012 Russia was negotiating a partnership and cooperation agreement with the European Union, such as the one that Ukraine signed) and the tragic accidents of the Polish presidential plane and current Russia's cruel and disrespectful treatment of the wreckage of our Air Force One [Editor's note: The Polish Air Force Tu-154 plane crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk in 2010, killing almost 100 people on board, including Polish president Lech Kaczynski].
Former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski talks to DW
Could you characterize the current Polish government as really Russophobic?
When Russian generals threaten us with nuclear weapons, what are we supposed to feel? When Russia conducts "Zapad" military exercises in which Poland is the target of a nuclear strike — that's a very good way of maintaining the phobia. What worries me is that we don't seem to have any relations now. You know we talk to each other through the media or shout at each other through a keyhole. And that can be dangerous because it creates room for misunderstandings. But at the same time remember that the current Polish ruling party, ideologically speaking, is indistinguishable from the "United Russia" [Editor's note: Russia's ruling party].
This is a good point that you have just mentioned. If you look at other parties like this across Eastern and Central Europe you would see that populists basically like Putin because they share the same values. But it is not true for Polish populists.
Because there is a fundamental difference: Other right-wing populists in Europe don't have a border with Russia and they were never occupied by Russia. Russia is the only conceivable existential threat to Poland. We don't think it's a current threat, but Russia exercises scenarios and some Russian politicians say things that are very dangerous to us. So yes, many people in Poland fear Russia.
Read more: Is a new US-Poland base realistic?
The Polish minister of defense announced the stationing of a US military base in Poland. He wants to be sure that it just somehow deters Russia from a possible invasion. Do you support it?
I worked very hard to bring it about. We want in Poland the kind of allied forces that would deter Russia but not threaten Russia. You cannot invade Russia with two brigades. The Wehrmacht tried with 100 divisions and failed. So two brigades don't threaten Russia but reassure Poland.
What would you say about the possible reaction from Russia if you had a permanent US military base here in Poland?
Russia withdrew from the Conventional [Armed] Forces in Europe Treaty, which limited the presence of conventional troops with the argument that Russia should be able to move its troops around its territory as they please. Well, if you can move as you please, so can NATO.
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Pessimists think Russia will implode, undergo a demographic -health-economic catastrophe as soon as the easily accessible raw materials end. I sure wouldn't wish such a scenario, neither for the Russians nor for their direct or close neighbours, as Poland is. 
