– We had different periods in our common history. But today we are where we are and we now have the strongest relations in history, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with four Polish editorial offices. He was also asked whether he could personally guarantee that the exhumations of the victims of the Volhynia massacre would begin.
President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to four Polish editorial offices: TVN24, Onet, “Rzeczpospolita” and “Krytyka Polityczna”. The Ukrainian leader talked about the current situation on the front and, among other things, answered the question whether the war could end this year.
Zelensky: Polish-Ukrainian relations are the strongest in history
Zelensky spoke, among other things, about the current state of Polish-Ukrainian relations and issues related to historical events. He was asked whether he could guarantee that the exhumations of the victims of the Volhynia massacre would start this spring. – We had different historical issues, different periods in our common history. But today we are where we are and we now have the strongest relations in history, because they are being tested by tests like these, said the Ukrainian president.
– We have very strong alliance relations and I don't want to lose them. And the cause (of their corruption – ed.) can be anything. You know what it's like during war, when people suffer such losses, they don't have a home, someone lost their husband, someone lost their child, someone lost their home. These are strong relationships, these are very sensitive emotions. And this is about very sensitive issues, he continued.
Zelensky: Polish-Ukrainian relations are the strongest in historyTVN24
– Look how people take everything very harshly on social media. I'm not talking about whether it's fair or not. I'm just saying that people are more sensitive. They react violently and then “can have very dangerous consequences,” he continued.
– Of course, Ukrainians defend Ukrainian interests, Poles – Polish ones, but please remember that we also have Ukrainian-Polish interests and these are very important interests – he emphasized.
– Our Ministry of Culture started working today on the issue of history and respect for history. They develop plans, they have deadlines, they have the appropriate steps planned. They see all the details and are aware of them. We had a meeting with the prime minister, with the president, and it is very important that both sides say they see progress, said the president of Ukraine.
Zelensky: The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture received authorization from me
Zelensky was also asked whether he can personally guarantee that the exhumations of the victims of the Volhynia massacre will actually begin.
– The Ministry of Culture received authorization from me and I said that both I and Prime Minister Tusk would support them. We will support them and help them in all these processes and we will monitor their results from time to time – he replied.
Zelensky: The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture received authorization from meTVN24
Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Warsaw
During his Wednesday visit to Warsaw, Zelensky first met the prime minister Donald Tusk. After the conversation, Zelensky and Tusk spoke at joint conference.
Prime Minister Tusk assured that the Polish and Ukrainian sides “find a common language and methods of joint action when it comes to the issue of the Volhynian crime” and sensitive issues in our history. According to the Prime Minister, what deserves to be called a “breakthrough” is the fact that our countries understand each other on this issue and are starting to “talk to each other in a normal language.”
It took place in the afternoon Zelensky's meeting with President Andrzej Duda. After this meeting, another press conference was held. President Duda also said that they talked about issues related to history and exhumations.
Later, there was a meeting with the mayor of Warsaw RafaÅ‚ Trzaskowski. “On behalf of all Warsaw residents, I accepted the President's thanks and the title of City Rescuer,” Trzaskowski said.
A long-standing dispute over exhumation
Poland and Ukraine have been divided for many years by the memory of the role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which in 1943-45 committed genocidal ethnic cleansing of approximately 100,000 Polish men, women and children. While for the Polish side it was a condemnable crime of genocide (mass and organized), for the Ukrainians it was the result of a symmetrical armed conflict for which both sides were equally responsible. Additionally, Ukrainians want to perceive the OUN and UPA only as anti-Soviet organizations (due to their post-war resistance to the USSR), and not anti-Polish organizations.