Ukraine not to join EU until Volyn tragedy issue resolved – Polish defence minister
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Head of the Polish People's Party, has stated that he would block Ukraine's accession to the European Union until the issues of exhumation and the memory of the victims of the Volyn tragedy are resolved. [The Volyn 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.]
"I have not changed my opinion, although I see that President Duda has a different one. Ukraine will not join the European Union. I will not give my consent if it does not resolve the Volyn issue," he said, as quoted by Polish news portal Wirtualna Polska.
Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised that "the issue of military assistance [to Ukraine] is a matter of both humanity and our security, but economic or historical issues must be settled".
He stressed that even if EU member states agree to Ukraine's membership, his Polish People's Party, which is part of the governing coalition, will oppose it if exhumation is not conducted and the memory of the victims is not honoured.
He said joining the EU is an action for development, to improve the functioning of the state, and for this, certain conditions must be met, "not only economic but also in terms of an approach to the truth and history".
"History is not just for historians, as Minister Kuleba said; it is the worst formulation that can be used," Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised.
Commenting on Andrzej Duda's remarks that "those who block Ukraine's accession to the EU are part of Putin's policy", the minister said he fundamentally disagrees with him.
"The basic principle is to establish conditions for joining the European Union, such as historical truth, reconciliation with the past and respect for others with whom you want to be in the Union. When are we going to establish these conditions?" Kosiniak-Kamysz wondered.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated earlier this summer that resolving historical disputes regarding the Volyn tragedy is a condition for Ukraine's EU membership.
On 1 October, amid talks between Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Poland, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory announced plans to include work on searching for and exhuming the remains of Poles in Rivne Oblast (Ukraine's northwest) in 2025.
The Polish Foreign Ministry welcomed the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory's readiness to resume work on the search and exhumation of victims of the Volyn tragedy.