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| Europe |
| Polish ex-minister quoted saying Putin offered to divide Ukraine |
| 2014-10-21 |
| Poland's parliamentary speaker, Radoslaw Sikorski, was quoted as saying that Vladimir Putin proposed to Poland's then leader in 2008 that they divide Ukraine between themselves. Sikorski, who until September served as Poland's foreign minister, was quoted saying that Putin made the proposal during Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's visit to Moscow in 2008 - although he later said some of the interview had been "overinterpreted". Sikorski said, "He wanted us to become participants in this partition of Ukraine ... This was one of the first things that Putin said to my prime minister, Donald Tusk, when he visited Moscow. He (Putin) went on to say Ukraine is an artificial country and that Lwow is a Polish city and why don't we just sort it out together." Sikorski, who accompanied Tusk on his trip to Moscow, was quoted as saying Tusk did not reply to Putin's suggestion, because he knew he was being recorded, but Poland never expressed any interest in joining the Russian operation. Sikorski was quoted as saying, "We made it very, very clear to them - we wanted nothing to do with this." After publication of the interview, Sikorski said it was not entirely accurate. "Some of the words have been overinterpreted," Sikorski wrote on his Twitter account late on Monday, adding that Poland does not take part in annexations. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #4 A Polish statesman with some knowledge of his own nation's history would naturally be leery of partitions. Especially with Russians as the partner. |
| Posted by: charger 2014-10-21 21:30 |
| #3 Just in time for the 75th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-10-21 15:25 |
| #2 So, big ideas keep coming back. On the one hand, Russia discusses partitioning one neighbor with another; meanwhile, over at The Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere... |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-10-21 07:25 |
| #1 Nobody wants Gallicians? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-10-21 03:26 |