Kyiv has confirmed there are no obstacles to exhuming the remains of Poles massacred by Ukrainians during WWII, Poland’s foreign minister said on Tuesday, signaling an apparent breakthrough in a thorny problem souring relations between the two nations.
The issue of exhumations has often threatened to derail ties between Kyiv and Warsaw, a staunch backer of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
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Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced what appeared to be a turning point after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha in Warsaw on Tuesday
Sikorski said: “Ukraine confirms that there are no obstacles to the conduct of search and exhumation work on the territory of Ukraine by Polish state institutions and private entities in cooperation with relevant Ukrainian institutions... and declares its readiness to positively consider applications in these matters.”
Poland has long campaigned for its investigators to be given full access in Ukraine to exhume massacre victims.
A series of killings by Ukrainian nationalists lasting from 1943 to 1945 in regions of modern-day Ukraine, the so-called Volhynia Massacre claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 Polish men, women and children.
While Poland views the massacre as genocide, Ukrainians have been divided on how to classify the killings, with some historians framing it as part of a broader Polish-Ukrainian conflict.
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Sybiha said that the two countries were working on practical mechanisms for conducting search and exhumation work, adding: “Every family has the right to honor the memory of their ancestors.
The Ukrainian foreign minister also expressed his “deep gratitude to every Pole, every Polish family for their immense support for Ukraine.
Sybiha added that cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv "is a guarantee of security, stability and development both for both countries and for the whole of Europe."
Any peace deal ‘must have Kyiv’s approval’
Sikorski said that any proposed solution for ending the war in Ukraine must have Kyiv’s approval, adding: “Poland will support them [Ukraine] in this.”
“Ukraine must regain its territories within internationally recognized borders,” Sikorski added.
“In the event of starting talks to end the war, which in our opinion is not likely at the moment, considering the increasingly brutal attacks by Russia, any solution prepared must be approved by our Ukrainian friends.
Sikorski stressed that what happens in Ukraine has a direct impact on neighboring Poland’s security.
Boosting Ukraine’s EU hopes
Sikorski also promised that Warsaw would try to accelerate Kyiv’s accession to the European Union once Poland assumes the rotating presidency of the bloc.
Poland will in January take over the helm of the EU from Hungary, which under populist premier Viktor Orbán has been critical of Kyiv’s aspirations to join the club.
Sikorski said: “As the presidency, we will not only strive to keep Ukraine high on the EU agenda, but we will also mobilize our partners to impose additional sanctions on the Russian Federation, including the so-called shadow fleet, i.e. the fleet of tankers that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions.”
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