Polish and Ukrainian presidents meet for first time since start of diplomatic crisis

The presidents of Poland and Ukraine, Karol Nawrocki and Volodymyr Zelensky, have held talks for the first time since a diplomatic crisis broke out between the two countries and their leaders.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ongoing NATO summit in Turkey, with Nawrocki saying that it was important to “remain in dialogue” given that Poland and Ukraine “share a common enemy, Russia”.

The crisis began in late May, when Zelensky named a military unit after the “heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)”. In Ukraine, the UPA is remembered primarily for its role in fighting for Ukrainian independence from Moscow-imposed Soviet rule during and after World War Two.

In Poland, however, it is associated with the Volhynia massacres, in which the UPA led the slaughter of around 100,000 ethnic Polish civilians, mostly women and children. Poland has officially recognised the massacres as a genocide, but Ukraine rejects that label.

In response to Zelensky’s decision, Nawrocki stripped him of Poland’s highest honour. That then prompted Zelensky to cancel plans to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference that took place in Poland last week and declare that “no one will dictate which heroes we honour”.

On Wednesday morning, Nawrocki’s office announced that the two presidents had held “bilateral talks” on the sidelines of a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday evening at the NATO summit in Ankara.

“It seems natural to me that neighbouring countries, which share a common enemy, Russia, remain in dialogue with each other, regardless of certain bilateral tensions,” said Nawrocki.

The Polish president added that his “position on our bilateral tensions remains unchanged: Poland, and I believe all of Europe, cannot accept the reference to UPA soldiers who are responsible for the deaths of 120,000 Poles. However, this does not preclude dialogue and discussion.”

Subsequently, Zelensky’s communications advisor, Dmytro Lytvyn, confirmed that the two presidents had held a “short conversation” on Tuesday evening and would try to hold another meeting today, reports news agency Interfax-Ukraine. Nawrocki likewise said he may speak with Zelensky again today.

In a group photo of leader attending the NATO summit released on Tuesday evening, Nawrocki and his wife, Marta Nawrocka, were standing next to Zelensky and Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska.

The developments come after Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha last week visited Warsaw to propose an “anti-crisis package” of measures to de-escalate the dispute. However, Poland has made clear it expects a “correction” of the decision to name a unit after the UPA.

On Tuesday this week, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, warned Poland against issuing any ultimatums.

“The last one who tried to give us an ultimatum was Russia,” he told RBC-Ukraine. “No offence to Poland, but [Russia] is somewhat more powerful than Poland – and we didn’t accept its ultimatum either.”

Budanov also claimed that Poland will take “a whole series of immature escalatory steps” this week given that it will be marking the anniversary of the start of the Volhynia massacres on Saturday. However, he also said that he “hopes we move towards de-escalation”.

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.