Polish President says that attempts to block Ukraine's EU accession through Volyn tragedy fit into Putin's policy

Polish President Andrzej Duda believes that anyone who says that they are going to block Ukraine's access to the European Union is fitting into Vladimir Putin's policy. 

According to Rzeczpospolita, the president said in an interview with Polsat News he did not want to create tension between Warsaw and Kyiv.

"I tried to act in such a way as not to create points of tension between Warsaw and Kyiv, as far as possible (...). It was not easy because there are difficult topics between us. 

But I have also discussed these issues with President Zelenskyy, and the best example of this was the president's [Zelenskyy’s] presence in Lutsk on the anniversary of the Volyn tragedy," Duda said.

[The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy was a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943 during World War II. It was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west. Poland considers the Volyn tragedy a genocide of Poles – ed.].

"It is also in Ukraine's interest to find an understanding with us on all complex issues, including historical ones. Let's remember that Ukrainians have many problems related to their World War II past," he added. 

Andrzej Duda was asked about Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz's statement that if the Volyn tragedy issue is not resolved between Warsaw and Kyiv, then Ukraine has no place in the European Union. 

Duda said that Putin attacked Ukraine to stop its integration into the EU. 

"If anyone says in this regard that they are going to block Ukraine's access to the European Union, then they are fitting into Vladimir Putin's policy. Well, I don't know if this is the intention of those who are now in power," the Polish president said. 

"I would like to know what exactly ministers and prime ministers mean when they make such statements. These are complex issues, including for Ukrainians themselves, which must be taken into account and which have been silenced for years," he added. 

Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said in the summer that Warsaw would not be able to agree to Ukraine's accession to the EU until the countries resolve the dispute over the events in Volyn during World War II. 

Recently, it has been reported that the Polish Foreign Ministry is allegedly planning to use Ukraine's European integration aspirations as an instrument to put pressure on Kyiv in the coming months, particularly regarding the issue of exhumations of the victims of the Volyn tragedy.