Posted on 08/31/2009 1:37:48 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
MOSCOW, August 31 (Itar-Tass) - The events of the past must not darken relations between Russia and Poland that should be freed of the mistrust burden, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in an article published by the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper on the eve of his working visit to the country. “The shadows of the past must not darken any more the present, and the more so, the tomorrow of our cooperation. It is our duty to the past generations, history itself, to do everything to free the Russian-Polish relations from the burden of mistrust and bias we inherited, to turn over the page and start to write a new one,” Putin believes.
According to him, “The people of Russia the destiny of which was warped by the totalitarian regime understand very well the subtle senses of the Polish linked with Katyn where thousands of Polish soldiers are buried.” “We must together to cherish the memory of the victims of this crime,” the RF prime minister stressed.
The Russian government head is certain that the “memorials Katyn and Mednoye, the same as the tragic fate of Russian soldiers taken prisoners by Poland in 1920 war should become the symbol of common grief and mutual forgiveness.”
Recalling that during WW2 the Soviet and Polish soldiers were on the same side of the fence, Putin stressed that “it depends only on us to make sure that all the good and kind linking the peoples of Russia and Poland augments with new deeds and grow in the 21st century.”
According to Putin, “It is this creative logic that is beginning to manifest itself in Russian-Polish relations today.” “After an unreasonably dragged out pause, the work of the key mechanisms of the bilateral dialogue was resumed both at the state and public levels, interregional contacts are developing and the cultural, educational and other humanitarian exchanges are developing,” he noted.
“In 2008, the mutual trade turnover grew by more than 1.5 times, and in the current difficult conditions of the global crisis we intend to exert every effort in order to overcome the influence of the unfavourable world economic situation and come out with new advanced projects,” the Russian prime minister stated in the article. He explained that he had in mind “the energy, transport, high technology sectors and innovations, the mutual flow of investments in the industry, agriculture and infrastructure.” “In a word, promising prospects are opening for Russia and Poland for partnership work, for building relations worthy of the two great European nations,” believes the RF cabinet head.
He is certain that for this the sides have such needed aspect of relations as mutual respect, including for the WW2 heroes. “We are deeply grateful to Poland in the land of which more than 600 thousand Red Army soldiers who sacrificed their lives for its liberation are buried, because it carefully and respectfully treats our military burial sites,” he said. “Believe me, these words are not just for the sake of the protocol – they are sincere coming from the bottom of my heart,” Putin stressed.
According to him, history knows many examples in which even enemy countries had established partnership and friendly relations.
“The historic conciliation of France and Germany opened the path towards the creation of the European Union, the wisdom and forgiveness of the Russian and German peoples, foresight of state officials of the two countries made it possible to take a decisive step towards the building of the Greater Europe,” he noted. Putin stated that the “partnership of Russia and Germany has become an example of meeting each other halfway, orientation towards the future with simultaneous careful attitude to the memory of the past.”
“Russian-German partnership also today plays a most important positive role in international and European politics,” the RF prime minister stated. “I am certain that Russian-Polish relations will also sooner or later reach such a high and truly partnership level. It meets the interests of our peoples and the entire European continent,” Putin emphasised.
This gives me hope that one day, Putin will also find it in his heart to forgive Ronald Reagan and the USA for winning the Cold War and causing "greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century," the collapse of the EVIL EMPIRE.
Uh Oh... Poland had better beef up its Eastern border!
Ain’t that sweet.
I thought he was talking about the removal of the missile defense system from Poland.
Putin is a snake.
Or voila, a new country, PoRussia! Or RussPolia. Or whatever.
>>(Russia forgives Poland)<<
.
For Katyn?
Some kind of stab in the back to Poland.
ahh - like when the Soviets waited for the Warsaw uprising to be crushed before moving in. They wouldn't want those Poles to be free...
Actually, quite a lot of prewar Eastern Poland went to the Soviet Union after WWII. To compensate they took Silesia, most of East Prussia and part of Pomerania from Germany and gave it to Poland.
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