Thursday16 January 2025
g-novosti.in.ua

A Polish presidential candidate opposed Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO. The Foreign Ministry has responded.

The head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and presidential candidate from the national-conservative party Law and Justice (PiS), Karol Nawrocki, expressed his opposition to Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO. He made this statement on January 9 during a broadcast on Polsat News.
Польский президентский кандидат выступил против вступления Украины в ЕС и НАТО. Министерство иностранных дел отреагировало на это заявление.

According to him, a state that "cannot be accountable for its 'crimes' " cannot be part of alliances, referring to the issue of the Volhynian tragedy of 1943–1944.

In response to such a statement by Nawrocki, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the head of the PiS party, Jarosław Kaczyński, on social media platform X.

"Do you still remember which president supported Ukraine the most on this issue? And who is the most opposed? Aren't you ashamed?" – Tusk wrote.

Prezesie Kaczyński, panski kandydat Karol Nawrocki stwierdził, że nie widzi dla Ukrainy miejsca в NATO. Pamięta Pan jeszcze, ktory prezydent najmocniej wspierał Ukrainę w tej kwestii? A kto jest najwięcej przeciwny? Nie wstyd Panu?

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) January 9, 2025

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine described Nawrocki's statements regarding EU and NATO membership as manipulative, with the corresponding comment published on its website.

"Such statements indicate that the Polish politician prioritizes opportunistic considerations over the strategic security interests of his country, the good-neighborly Ukrainian-Polish relations, and the shared values of freedom, democracy, and justice," the comment stated.

They added that a constructive dialogue continues between the Ukrainian and Polish sides on historical issues, urging Polish politicians not to exploit the topic of complex historical pages in domestic political struggles, and emphasized that Nawrocki's statements received applause in the Kremlin.

"It should be recalled that it is [the aggressor country] Russia that has been trying for centuries to destroy the Ukrainian and Polish states. Moscow is currently investing colossal resources in attempts to undermine Ukrainian-Polish friendship and mutual understanding. It is unacceptable to make statements that play into the hands of these enemy efforts," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

Earlier, Nawrocki, commenting on the exhumation of the victims of the Volhynian tragedy, referred to Galicia as "Little Poland".

Also, Nawrocki was seen among farmers protesting in Warsaw on January 3, 2025. The agrarians were then protesting against, among other things, the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries – an economic union of states in South America, the "green" course, and the import of grain from Ukraine.

The next presidential elections in Poland are scheduled for May 18 2025.