Zelenskyy and Polish President Nawrocki talk for over an hour, agree to continue dialogue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken about his meeting with Polish leader Karol Nawrocki.

Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter), reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said he and Nawrocki held "an important and necessary conversation", which lasted over an hour.

Quote: "We face one common threat – Russia. And it is critical to maintain mutual understanding, support, and unity of action."

More details: Zelenskyy said that the two agreed to continue the dialogue.

Quote: "Our countries need only strong relations."

More details: The meeting between the two leaders comes after a serious deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Warsaw, particularly at presidential level, following a row over the naming of one of the military units after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) heroes, and Nawrocki's decision in response to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.

For reference: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army 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:

• Earlier, Nawrocki said he had spoken with Zelenskyy during the leaders' dinner ahead of the NATO summit.
• Following this, the Ukrainian President's Office said the two presidents would try to align their schedules to hold an in-person meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
• During a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw on 3 July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha proposed "a package of anti-crisis steps", aimed at easing tensions between the two countries.

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