What did the Minister of Defense say? "The issue of military or humanitarian aid is not up for debate; it is also a matter of our security. But other issues, related to bilateral relations, economic or historical matters, must be resolved. I have not changed my mind, even though President Andrzej Duda holds a different view from mine. Ukraine will not enter the European Union, and there will certainly be no consent. If member states are to express their approval, we, as a political group, as PSL, will oppose it if Ukraine does not address the Volhynia issue, if there are no exhumations, no memorials..." - said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz in an interview with Wirtualna Polska.
Kosiniak-Kamysz Criticizes Kuleba: "Joining the European Union is about fostering development. To achieve that, certain conditions must be met. This also involves an approach to the truth. History is not just for historians, as (former) Minister Kuleba said. That’s the worst phrasing one could use" - emphasized the Minister of Defense. "Respect for others, with whom one wants to be in the EU, is a fundamental principle. When should we set these conditions?" - the politician asked. "I believe that anti-Ukrainian sentiments (in Poland) will rise if the government does not address the Volhynia issue clearly, and this is a very current matter" - he stressed, adding that the wound "remains open and unhealed".
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was asked during the Campus Poland of the Future event when Poland could conduct exhumations of the victims of the Volhynia massacre. In response, the politician said: "If we were to start digging into history today, the quality of the conversation would be completely different, and we could delve very deeply into history and recall the wrongs that both Poles did to Ukrainians and Ukrainians to Poles". Donald Tusk was asked about this statement during a press conference on August 30.
I want to say that I have a clear, negative assessment of what the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said regarding both the interpretation of history and the issue of exhumations. Ukraine, one way or another, will have to meet Poland’s expectations, not by digging into history but by building our relationship based on the truth of that history
- Donald Tusk said. The Prime Minister stated that "this truth is not black-and-white, where only angels are on the Polish side and crime on the Ukrainian side, but the truth, exhumation, and an honest assessment of what happened during and just after World War II are necessary". He added: "these are essential elements for building good Polish-Ukrainian relations".
Donald Tusk emphasized that "Ukraine will not become a member of the European Union without Poland’s consent". He continued:
Ukraine must meet certain standards, and they are multifaceted. It’s not just about trade, borders, or legal-economic standards. It’s also about, I would say, cultural and political standards.
According to the Prime Minister, "there would be no European Union without truth and reconciliation between the Germans and the French, as well as between the Germans and the Poles". He underlined that "Ukrainians, despite our great respect and support for their military efforts, must also understand that joining the EU means entering a space of standards concerning political and historical culture".
