Ukrainian foreign minister amid tensions with Poland: We will mirror all unfriendly steps
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Ukraine will respond in kind to any unfriendly actions directed against the country.
Source: Sybiha during the national joint 24/7 newscast, as cited by the Foreign Ministry and reported by European Pravda
Details: Sybiha was commenting on the latest escalation in Polish-Ukrainian relations.
"We have always approached matters constructively, valued our relations with Poland and been grateful for the assistance we have received," he noted.
Sybiha said it is now crucial not to politicise sensitive issues related to the historical past and to leave them to historians.
Quote: "Disrespect towards the president of Ukraine is not only about awards. It is about disrespect towards the Ukrainian soldier, the Ukrainian people and our right to have our own history. We will not tolerate this.
We will mirror all steps, especially if those steps are unfriendly and disrespectful towards our country. The time of ignoring such actions has passed."
Details: The foreign minister said that Polish President Karol Nawrocki has become a destroyer of the positive progress achieved in recent years.
"It is no coincidence that he is receiving applause from Moscow," Sybiha noted.
Meanwhile, he called on Poles to act with restraint and diplomacy.
"We speak with our Polish friends every day about how to preserve the diplomatic track. We are united by common challenges, common interests and a shared European future," Sybiha said.
Earlier, Sybiha thanked Poles who oppose escalating tensions with Ukraine and reminded them of the two countries' common enemy – Russia.
Background:
- On the evening of 19 June, Nawrocki took the decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle in connection with the naming of a Ukrainian military unit after the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. He said Poland would not allow EU accession for those who do not understand the need to renounce the "cult of totalitarianism and violence".
- Following this, Sybiha, Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, and Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Budanov announced that they would be returning the Polish state awards they had received.
- On 20 June, Zelenskyy said he had sent the order back to Nawrocki by post.
- All Ukrainian presidents who have been awarded the Polish Order of the White Eagle have subsequently renounced it.
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