Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, during a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski, offered Poland a "package of anti-crisis steps" to regulate relations between the countries.
Sybiha wrote about this on the social network X.
According to the minister, this involves consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Ukraine, a meeting of historians who deal with the topic of World War II, as well as the involvement of religious leaders in bilateral dialogue.
Sybiha emphasized that Poland is one of Ukraineʼs key partners, and both countries have a common enemy — Russia.
"Itʼs time to put emotions aside. We have enough wisdom, lessons from shared history, and political will to not allow Moscow to rejoice in the tension between our two closest neighbors," he wrote.
The minister also stated that over the past year and a half, Kyiv and Warsaw have made "significant progress" in resolving sensitive historical issues. In particular, they have unblocked the exhumations and resumed the work of the Congress of Historians.
According to him, Ukraine is open to "equal and honest dialogue" and will continue to grant permits for search and exhumation work.
Separately, Sybiha assured the Polish side that naming one of the Ukrainian military units after the UPA "had no anti-Polish connotation".
"We respect the history of other peoples and expect the same attitude towards our own history and independence from our partners," the Ukrainian minister noted.
During the meeting, the heads of the Foreign Ministries of Poland and Ukraine also discussed the situation on the front, military-technical cooperation, preparations for the NATO summit, joint projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine, the development of border infrastructure, and the acceleration of customs procedures.
In addition, Sybiha thanked Poland for its prompt response to cases of hatred and xenophobia against Ukrainians in the country, and also noted that Warsaw confirmed its readiness to continue supporting Ukraine in strengthening its defense capabilities.
Deterioration of relations between Ukraine and Poland
On May 26, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree awarding the Separate Special Operations Center "North" of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary title "named after the Heroes of UPA". The document states that this was done "to restore the historical traditions of the national army."
This decision by the Ukrainian president caused outrage among Poles. And on June 19, incumbent President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Polandʼs highest state award, which he had been awarded by former Polish President Andrzej Duda. Zelensky later sent his order to Poland via “Nova Post”.
After that, three former Ukrainian presidents: Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko, refused the order. Also, the head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Foreign Ministry Andriy Sybiha, and former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, refused their other Polish awards in protest.
In addition, former Polish Sejm member Piotr Vogler refused the Golden Cross of Merit. He called President Nawrockiʼs actions a "nightmare".
At the same time, Polish politicians began to refuse Ukrainian state awards. In particular, former Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and former Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński reported this decision.
And former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki transferred the Ukrainian Order of Yaroslav the Wise, which he received from Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, to the Museum of Memory of the Victims of the Volyn Tragedy in Chelm (Poland).
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