Ukraine should be in EU, despite historical contradictions - Polish Parliament Head
Polish and Ukrainian flags (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine should become a member of the European Union. Poland will continue to discuss disagreements over the Volyn tragedy after accession, states Polish Parliament Head Szymon Hołownia.
He noted that after Ukraine's accession to the EU, the discussion will be in the secure ecosystem of the European Union.
“If you ask me whether Ukraine should be a member of the EU, despite certain things, then yes, Ukraine should be a member of the EU... But we will continue to have some differences between us and Ukrainians regarding Volyn, regarding our history. We will have them there, and we will continue to discuss them, but in the safe ecosystem of the European Union,” said the head of the Polish Sejm.
Background
Yesterday, on August 30, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that resolving historical issues is primarily in the interests of Ukraine, which will not become an EU member without Poland's consent.
The statement came after a meeting on August 28 between Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, who was asked about historical issues that “divide our countries.”
Kuleba replied that if you start digging into history, Ukrainians and Poles can blame each other for certain bad things. Therefore, it is better for both countries to build the future together and leave history to historians.
Reacting to Kuleba's words, Tusk said on August 30 that he did not want “what is controversial when it comes to Polish-Ukrainian relations” to be an alibi for those with “pro-Russian tendencies.”
In general, the Prime Minister of Poland negatively assessed the statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. He added that Ukraine would allegedly have to “meet Polish expectations in terms of not so much burying history as building our relations on the basis of the truth about this history.”
