Former Polish foreign minister explains why Nawrocki's idea to strip Zelenskyy of order is "inappropriate"
Former Polish foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz believes that convening the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle to strip President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the award and escalating the dispute with Kyiv is an unprofessional step that damages Poland's image on the international stage.
Source: Polish news outlet Onet citing Czaputowicz's comments during a Polsat News programme, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The Polish foreign minister in Mateusz Morawiecki's government believes that Polish President Karol Nawrocki has damaged the country's image by initiating the process of stripping Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.
Quote: "The President [Nawrocki – ed.] has gained nothing, while we, as Poland, have lost a significant amount of prestige in this entire affair. The instrument chosen to resolve this matter was inappropriate."
Details: In the former minister's view, the role of diplomacy is to prevent such situations and strengthen ties between countries. He emphasised that stripping Zelenskyy of the award is not the right decision, although he himself does not approve of the Ukrainian president's move to name a military unit after the heroes of the UPA.
He described Zelenskyy's decision as "a serious mistake", one which Polish politicians should not, however, have sought to exploit to their advantage.
Czaputowicz stated that he considers any intervention in this matter a serious mistake, as the end result will prove fruitless, and the Ukrainian side will be given confirmation that it can act in a similar manner in the future.
He also said that Poland has long ceased to treat its eastern neighbour as an equal partner, instead adopting a condescending position that no state with full sovereignty can accept.
"Poland's policy towards Ukraine has long been hostile. President Karol Nawrocki has made it worse. I once called it the politics of Hyenas in this very studio… We want to defend our interests when another country is bleeding and is weak. And, of course, we have lost," he concluded.
For reference: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, was a nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought for Ukrainian independence during and after World War II, primarily against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland believes that the UPA was responsible for what it considers the genocide of Poles during the Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy, a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943. The tragedy was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west.
Background: On 8 June, a meeting of the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle took place in Poland, one of the items on the agenda being Polish President Karol Nawrocki's proposal to strip Zelenskyy of the award; however, the Polish President has not yet made his decision.
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