Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki: We are extremely critical of any glorification of Stepan Bandera

During the Monday press conference, the head of the Polish government was asked about the commemoration of Stepan Bandera’s birthday on the profiles of the Verkhovna Rada Ukraine in social media. On Sunday, on the 114th anniversary of Bandera’s birth, the Supreme Council (parliament) of Ukraine published on Twitter a photo of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzhny, under the portrait of the UPA leader, and quoted several quotes from books written by Bandera.

“When, choosing between bread and freedom, a nation chooses bread, it ultimately loses everything, including bread. If a nation chooses freedom, then it will have the bread it has created and no one will take it away from it. (…) Total and final victory Ukrainian nationalism will come to an end when the Russian empire ceases to exist,” Bandera’s words were recalled on the Rada’s profile.

“The fight against the Russian empire is currently underway. And these guidelines of Stepan Bandera are well known to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” the Ukrainian parliament added on social media.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki he said that “we are extremely critical, very, very negative about any glorification or even mention of Bandera.” – In my first conversation with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, after what happened, I will talk about it very, very clearly – announced the Prime Minister.

– There is no nuance here. If the Verkhovna Rada resembles this figure who was the ideologue of those criminal times – the war times, let us recall that all this happened under the German occupation, these terrible Ukrainian crimes, it is also worth reminding about it in general – one cannot agree to any leniency for those who do not want to admit that that terrible genocide was something unimaginable and make a full expiation, a full confession of guilt, the Prime Minister declared.

He was also asked about the new Polish-Ukrainian good neighborly treaty. In response, he noted that in this matter “under the auspices of the president” Andrzej Duda talks are underway with the Ukrainian side on how to shape mutual relations after the war. – After a war, hopefully ended as soon as possible, but a war ended with a good peace. If this war were to end on the terms of Putin, the Kremlin, God forbid – because it will mean that the world is more dangerous and Poland is in a worse position than today, he said.

He announced that after the end of the war “we will – I think – discuss the possible provisions of such a treaty in much more detail.” “Today, this is not our number one priority,” added the Prime Minister.