Posted on 12/02/2006 2:17:06 PM PST by lizol
Report: Poland's president uneasy over Russia-German ties
The Associated PressPublished: December 2, 2006
BERLIN: Poland's president expressed unease with political cooperation between Germany and Russia, suggesting in remarks published Saturday that Germany's leaders should be more critical of Moscow's growing assertiveness.
The comments from President Lech Kaczynski, in an interview with the German weekly Focus in an advance release of its Sunday edition, underline a growing concern in Poland that strengthened ties between its two large neighbors will squeeze it out of important political and economic deals.
In particular, Warsaw strongly opposes a German-Russian plan to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea that would bypass Poland.
In the interview, Kaczynski noted that Russia is undertaking "gigantic arms expenditures" and an "enormous expansion that is being carried out despite large social problems."
"I cannot believe that German politicians see no differences between countries like France, Germany and Poland on the one hand and today's Russia," Kaczynski said.
Polish leaders in past months have repeatedly complained that Germany is turning a blind eye to human rights abuses and growing authoritarianism in Russia in order not to harm the pipeline and other economic deals.
Kaczynski also referred to the recent deaths of two Kremlin critics — the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the radioactive poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.
In Russia there are "phenomena that occur nowhere else. Not all facts are openly known. But nobody denies that Ms. Politkovskaya was murdered and that the Litvinenko case is highly suspicious," Kaczynski was quoted as saying.
"At least in Poland, no opposition figure has lost his life in recent years."
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Yeah if I were Poland I'd be a little wary of Russia-German ties too...
"Nothing is more weak and uncertain than authority not backed by power" - Cornelius Tacitus. There is a time window - a few years. During this time, try to build as much alternative energetics [nukes, coal to oil/gas conversion, wind power] as possible. Protests are OK, but one cannot use them for heating a house.
Everytime Russia and Germany have ties, they celebrate by partioning Poland.
All this ink spilled and not once does the writer of the article note what happened to Poland the last time Germany and Russia had cosy ties.
My guess is that Poles understand instinctively that Russians are not their friends.But I'm surprised that they seem to have lost sight of the fact that Germany is a country without a soul.
Do you BLAME them?
cant say you blame em
No, I don't blame US :-)))
One-heckuva-headline award. BTT.
lizol, I enjoyed your other thread, "Pictures from my hometown of Lowicz". I couldn't post to that thread because I couldn't scroll past all the pictures - too much content for my Net access - in order to post a comment, so I'll do that here.
Joseph Conrad, a Pole whose parents and uncles were severely punished for revolting against the Czars, wrote: “The common guilt of the two Empires [Germany and Russia] is defined precisely by their frontier line running through the Polish provinces.” La plus ca change, la plus meme chose.
I'd say your president is just reaping now what he was sowing in recent times.
On what is he easy then ?
or the last time the US and russia had close ties ...
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