Post by Bonobo on Oct 29, 2017 22:21:19 GMT 1
Despite friction over history, both countries realise they must cooperate to make this part of Europe a safer place.
Partnership with Ukraine is a priority: Polish foreign minister
17.10.2017 13:46
Partnership with Ukraine remains a key aim in Warsaw’s foreign policy, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said.
In comments published in the Rzeczpospolita daily on Tuesday, Waszczykowski added that “the grave consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine confirm us in the belief that our own security, as a NATO member, needs to be strengthened, and also that Ukraine's right to a free choice about its path of development and international alliances need to be constantly defended.”
Waszczykowski noted that on January 1 Poland takes over from Ukraine as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years.
He said: "We see in this role an opportunity and duty to seek the restoration of respect in our region for norms of international law such as the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty of states, the renunciation of military force and blackmail, the use of force to resolve disputes between states.”
Waszczykowski added: “It is in this spirit that we will be involved in work to establish a UN peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.”
Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014.
(pk)
Source: PAP/Rzeczpospolita/MSZ
Poland, Ukraine agree to build trans-European route together
23.10.2017 12:16
Poland and Ukraine have signed a memorandum to work together in building a trans-European transport route known as Via Carpathia.
Poland’s Adamczyk (seated left) and Ukraine's Omelyan (seated right) sign the document on Sunday. Photo: PAP/Darek DelmanowiczPoland’s Adamczyk (seated left) and Ukraine's Omelyan (seated right) sign the document on Sunday. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
The memorandum of cooperation was inked on Sunday by Poland’s Infrastructure and Construction Minister Andrzej Adamczyk and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Omelyan in the presence of Polish and Ukrainian parliamentary Speakers.
During the signing ceremony in the southeastern Polish city of Przemyśl, Poland’s Adamczyk said that the Via Carpathia route was a key project for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as other regions that would benefit from the initiative.
Adamczyk also suggested that the Via Carpathia route could become part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), a network of roads, railway lines, inland waterways, seaports, and airports throughout the European Union.
Ukraine’s Omelyan said that the memorandum marked a “step into the future” for both countries.
Via Carpathia is a planned international route that would run from the Lithuanian cities of Klaipeda and Kaunas via Poland’s Białystok, Lublin and Rzeszów to Kosice in Slovakia and Debrecen in Hungary and further on to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
It is to stretch all the way to the Romanian port of Constanţa on the Black Sea and Salonika in Greece on the Aegean Sea. (gs/pk)
Poland, Ukraine honour victims of Stalinist crimes
23.10.2017 10:20
The Polish and Ukrainian culture ministers have paid homage to the victims of Stalinist crimes at a cemetery near Ukraine’s capital Kiev.
Poland’s Piotr Gliński and Ukraine’s Yevhen Nyshchuk led the ceremonies on Sunday during which wreaths were laid and prayers said for the souls of those murdered.
The cemetery in Bykivnia near Kiev holds the remains of both Ukrainian and Polish victims of communism, including several thousand Poles who were murdered by the Soviet Union’s NKVD secret police as part of its “Polish Operation” in the late 1930s.
Gliński, who is Poland’s deputy prime minister as well as culture minister, said the Ukrainian cemetery was a resting place for many Polish citizens for whom honour and patriotism were the greatest values.
Ukraine’s Nyshchuk said that Bykivnia is one of the largest mass grave sites in Europe and a "holy place" for both Poles and Ukrainians. “The trees in the Bykivnia forest stood witness to the inhumane tragedy of both our peoples,” he added.
The “Polish Operation” by the Soviet Union’s NKVD secret police resulted in the murder of at least 111,000 Poles in the former USSR in 1937 and 1938. More than 100,000 others were deported into the Soviet interior, mainly to Kazakhstan and Siberia. (gs/pk)
Source: IAR
Partnership with Ukraine is a priority: Polish foreign minister
17.10.2017 13:46
Partnership with Ukraine remains a key aim in Warsaw’s foreign policy, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said.
In comments published in the Rzeczpospolita daily on Tuesday, Waszczykowski added that “the grave consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine confirm us in the belief that our own security, as a NATO member, needs to be strengthened, and also that Ukraine's right to a free choice about its path of development and international alliances need to be constantly defended.”
Waszczykowski noted that on January 1 Poland takes over from Ukraine as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years.
He said: "We see in this role an opportunity and duty to seek the restoration of respect in our region for norms of international law such as the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty of states, the renunciation of military force and blackmail, the use of force to resolve disputes between states.”
Waszczykowski added: “It is in this spirit that we will be involved in work to establish a UN peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.”
Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014.
(pk)
Source: PAP/Rzeczpospolita/MSZ
Poland, Ukraine agree to build trans-European route together
23.10.2017 12:16
Poland and Ukraine have signed a memorandum to work together in building a trans-European transport route known as Via Carpathia.
Poland’s Adamczyk (seated left) and Ukraine's Omelyan (seated right) sign the document on Sunday. Photo: PAP/Darek DelmanowiczPoland’s Adamczyk (seated left) and Ukraine's Omelyan (seated right) sign the document on Sunday. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
The memorandum of cooperation was inked on Sunday by Poland’s Infrastructure and Construction Minister Andrzej Adamczyk and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Omelyan in the presence of Polish and Ukrainian parliamentary Speakers.
During the signing ceremony in the southeastern Polish city of Przemyśl, Poland’s Adamczyk said that the Via Carpathia route was a key project for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as other regions that would benefit from the initiative.
Adamczyk also suggested that the Via Carpathia route could become part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), a network of roads, railway lines, inland waterways, seaports, and airports throughout the European Union.
Ukraine’s Omelyan said that the memorandum marked a “step into the future” for both countries.
Via Carpathia is a planned international route that would run from the Lithuanian cities of Klaipeda and Kaunas via Poland’s Białystok, Lublin and Rzeszów to Kosice in Slovakia and Debrecen in Hungary and further on to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
It is to stretch all the way to the Romanian port of Constanţa on the Black Sea and Salonika in Greece on the Aegean Sea. (gs/pk)
Poland, Ukraine honour victims of Stalinist crimes
23.10.2017 10:20
The Polish and Ukrainian culture ministers have paid homage to the victims of Stalinist crimes at a cemetery near Ukraine’s capital Kiev.
Poland’s Piotr Gliński and Ukraine’s Yevhen Nyshchuk led the ceremonies on Sunday during which wreaths were laid and prayers said for the souls of those murdered.
The cemetery in Bykivnia near Kiev holds the remains of both Ukrainian and Polish victims of communism, including several thousand Poles who were murdered by the Soviet Union’s NKVD secret police as part of its “Polish Operation” in the late 1930s.
Gliński, who is Poland’s deputy prime minister as well as culture minister, said the Ukrainian cemetery was a resting place for many Polish citizens for whom honour and patriotism were the greatest values.
Ukraine’s Nyshchuk said that Bykivnia is one of the largest mass grave sites in Europe and a "holy place" for both Poles and Ukrainians. “The trees in the Bykivnia forest stood witness to the inhumane tragedy of both our peoples,” he added.
The “Polish Operation” by the Soviet Union’s NKVD secret police resulted in the murder of at least 111,000 Poles in the former USSR in 1937 and 1938. More than 100,000 others were deported into the Soviet interior, mainly to Kazakhstan and Siberia. (gs/pk)
Source: IAR