Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

Poland drops WWII reparations demand from Germany, focuses on Russia

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Oct 2024 23:23
3 Min Read

Sikorski pointed out that both NATO member states should focus on the future, since "we and Germany are allies and, for example, we need each other to fend off Russian missiles [deployed in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region] or Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea."

Listen
  • x
  • Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski speaks during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP)
    Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski speaks during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP)

Poland will not demand that Germany pay reparations for crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has stated on Wednesday.

Warsaw and Berlin are now allies, especially when it comes to deterring the threat they see posed by Russia, the diplomat said.

Under the previous right-wing government led by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Poland repeatedly brought up the issue of war reparations with Germany.

In 2022, Warsaw estimated that Berlin would need to shell out PLN 6.2 trillion (around $1.5 trillion) in compensation for damages inflicted by the Nazi occupation.

Appearing on Poland’s TVP Info channel on Tuesday, Sikorski said, "We’re not talking about reparations, but rather a gesture showing that the Germans feel that they are morally responsible for what they did to us."

According to the minister, "the ball is now in Germany’s court," with the onus on them to "offer a creative decision." He suggested that the neighboring country could take care of the remaining survivors of the Nazi occupation of Poland and erect a memorial in Berlin to commemorate the tragic events.

Sikorski pointed out that both NATO member states should focus on the future, since "we and Germany are allies and, for example, we need each other to fend off Russian missiles [deployed in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region] or Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea."

Related News

2024 records highest number of global conflicts since WWII: The Times

Fears of World War III surge in West, Russia seen as trigger: YouGov

Read more: Poland's government asked Germany for €1.3 trillion in war reparations

Targeting Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected the idea that Moscow has any plans to attack NATO, calling such speculation "nonsense."

The Kremlin also says it has been forced to beef up its defenses along its Western border as more countries in Eastern Europe have joined the bloc.

Back in February, Sikorski acknowledged that "unfortunately, reparations [from Germany] cannot be obtained."

Around the same time, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk made it clear that "in the formal, legal and international sense, the issue of reparations was closed many years ago."

Read more: Poland, Germany should negotiate reparations: US WW2 Veteran

Berlin maintains that the matter was resolved when Warsaw waived its right to restitution in 1953 under a deal with East Germany, and that the issue was definitively settled under a 1990 treaty on German reunification.

In February, the Polish foreign minister further argued that following World War II, it was agreed that Poland would receive 15% of reimbursements to which the USSR was entitled. The diplomat accused Moscow of “taking it away.”

Commenting on Warsaw’s claim, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov described it as more evidence of Poland’s "frenzied Russophobia."

  • World War II
  • Poland
  • WWII
  • war reparations
  • Germany
  • reparations
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS