Zelensky had heated dispute with Polish FM, columnist reports
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Zelensky told Polish FM Sikorski that Poland must intercept Russian missiles, assist Kiev in obtaining EU membership by next year, and demand Polish officials remain silent about the nations' historic grievances
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with Gitanas Nauseda, President of Lithuania, Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, and Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Silina during the Crimea Platform summit in Kiev, Ukraine, September 11, 2024. (AP)
Poland Foreign Minister Radoslow Sikorski and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksy had a serious dispute during a trilateral meeting in Kiev last week, Polish columnist Witold Jurasz claimed.
The meeting was held last Friday, along with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, where each official was accompanied by their aides. Jurasz, also a former diplomat, stated on Monday that negotiations were filled with tension, according to his sources.
News outlet Onet reported that Zelensky instigated the tensions, reprimanding Sikorski with a series of complaints that the Poles deemed unreasonable. Additionally, the Ukrainian leader called on Poland to intercept Russian missiles, assist Kiev in obtaining EU membership by next year, and demand Polish officials remain silent about the nations' historic grievances.
Jurasz's sources urged him not to publish his column, asserting that “Polish-Ukrainian tensions should not be discussed publicly at all." The columnist disregarded them, arguing that the dispute was a result of a larger problem of miscommunication.
High-ranking Ukrainian officials told Jurasz that Warsaw is “so threatened by Russia that by helping Ukraine, it is in fact only helping itself," asserting that Kiev has “no reason to be grateful to Poland."
Poland and Ukraine's previous disagreements
Disagreements between the two names are not an irregular occurrence.
Zelensky accused Poland's previous conservative government last September of employing a "political theater" through the imposition of a ban on Ukrainian grain imports. Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister at the time, berated Zelesnky at an election rally, telling him “never to insult Poles again.”
Kiev's former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba rebuked Poles last month regarding their attitudes to the Volyn massacre, the mass murder of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in World World II.
The ex-minister stated that Ukrainians also have their grievances, especially over post-war forced expulsion from "Ukrainian lands" in Poland.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded by emphasizing that Ukraine cannot be part of the European Union unless it adopts its "political and historical culture."
Sikorsi recently criticized the Ukrainian leader's policies in a call with Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus. He also stated that Ukraine cannot expect to join the EU bloc until it sorts out the issue of its low-cost agricultural exports.
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