Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller arrived, contrary to rumors, in Lviv on October 4 for an economic forum. Just a few days before, the Lviv meeting with the head of Poland’s government had seemed doubtful due to the row raised over the alleged supply of Ukrainian military equipment to Iraq in contravention of UN sanctions. The Polish side feared that Mr. Miller’s visit would be taken advantage of in Ukraine’s domestic political battles. On the eve of the Polish guest’s visit to Lviv, Warsaw saw a meeting of that country’s President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Prime Minister Leszek Miller, and Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. The Polish leaders were discussing the possibility of the Lviv forum and made a decision in favor of Ukraine.
Mr. Miller’s visit was justified as follows: Poland takes great interest in economic relations with Ukraine; it is necessary to get first-hand information (from premier Anatoly Kinakh) about what is really going on in this country and remind Kyiv that there is such a mechanism of overcoming crisis situations as dialog — in which Poland has certain experience. Polish informed sources told The Day that Warsaw had been hesitating about the Lviv visit not only because of Iraqgate but also because there are still many unsolved problems between Ukraine and Poland: uncertainty over the Odesa-Brody-Gdansk project, the deferred inauguration of the Young Eagles’ Cemetery in Lviv, etc. An informed Polish interviewee, who chose to remain anonymous, gave a very emotional answer “Under no circumstances!” when asked if Warsaw would resort to pressure for solving the old problems. In his words, Poland will still view Ukraine as a strategic partner. Incidentally, Poland is the world’s only country to refer Ukraine to this category of its foreign political priorities. “A free Poland is impossible without a free Ukraine,” he repeated these already classical words to characterize Warsaw’s attitude to Kyiv. Will Poland change its position if the Americans confirm their suspicions about the sales of Ukrainian Kolchuha radar systems to Iraq?
It may do so, but, as The Day was assured, this will in all probability only affect the personal relationship between Pres. Kwasniewski and Mr. Kuchma. The Ukrainian and Polish presidents have known each other for a long time and consider (perhaps not without reason) themselves friends. It was the Polish leader who offered a helping hand to the President of Ukraine two years ago when Ukraine sank in the tapegate. He met Pres. Kuchma at a time when other Western leaders spurned the very possibility of a meeting and even marketed the idea of a round table with the opposition.
The first reports that the Melnychenko tapes include a fragment where Pres. Kuchma and Mr. Malev discuss a likely sale of the Kolchuha to Iraq came up as long ago as last year. This was followed by several meetings of Kwasniewski and Kuchma, during which the Polish leader undoubtedly inquired if these suspicions were founded. Apparently, the Ukrainian leader denied any kind of involvement. But now Polish sources quote Pres. Kwasniewski as saying that if the accusations are confirmed, this will deal a staggering blow to Poland. At the same time, The Day was reassured that Warsaw even now draws a clear line between the Ukrainian political elite and the Ukrainian people as a whole.
Poland has decided not to revise its policy toward Ukraine until it gets the official results of the Iraqgate investigation. Last week Pres. Kwasniewski stressed, addressing a press conference, “The situation in Ukraine is not good. It is bad, first of all, that a certain state or the leaders of a certain state are being accused of violating the UN embargo. We look forward to these allegations being clarified. I know Ukraine has expressed its readiness to receive international observers and inspectors. It is very good that it took this step so quickly because if these accusations are groundless, the world should know this as soon as possible. But if they are well-grounded, the persons guilty of breaching the UN embargo which also bears our, Polish, signature must be punished.” The president of Poland also added that Pres. Kuchma had been elected by a popular vote for a five-year presidential term, and now, according to Pres. Kwasniewski, “there is no reason why this Constitutional provision should be called into question.”
Poland is very particular about its image. No less important for it is the trust of the United States. It is Poland, incidentally, that represents US interests in Iraq. Tellingly, Polish foreign political positions in the vast majority of cases coincide with those of the US administration. Poland is one of the few European countries which have unconditionally supported the idea of a military operation against the Saddam Hussein regime. Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said to Ukrainian journalists, “Our viewpoint coincides with that of the US administration. Like the Americans, we are sure Iraq is being ruled by a dictatorial regime that has been persistently foiling all UN decisions.” It is quite easy to understand what will happen to the support of Ukraine should the American allegations prove correct.
It will be to Ukraine’s benefit if its reputation is restored and all accusations are withdrawn. It will be equally to Kyiv’s benefit to solve the problems that have arisen in Ukrainian-Polish relations, including that of the Young Eagles’ Cemetery with the graves of the Polish soldiers who died in the battles for Lviv (for the freedom of Poland, as the Polish view this). As a matter of fact, the problems of memory should be solved by historians rather than politicians. In the case of the Young Eagles Cemetery, the efforts of both sides have led to an impasse. The Polish side has categorically insisted that the existing inscription on the monument (“To the unknown soldiers who heroically died for Poland”) be kept intact. As for the Ukrainian position, President Kuchma promised President Kwasniewski to meet all the Polish demands while unveiling the monument. Yet, aware of the current sentiments in Lviv, official Kyiv has done nothing to this end. As a result, the Lviv city council made what the Lviv residents considered as a highly compromising decision on the monument — a view disputed by Warsaw. This is why Mr. Kwasniewski’s visit for the opening of the Young Eagles memorial, scheduled for May 21, never took place. The memorial is still to be opened, although its reconstruction was a long time ago. Andrzej Przewoznik, Secretary of the Council for the Protection of the Memory of Combat and Martyrdom, told Ukrainian journalists that Poland was now awaiting steps on the part of Ukraine. “The Ukrainian authorities know very well what we hope for. We do not expect anything more than what has already been decided,” he noted. Marek Siwiec, Director of the National Security Bureau of Poland, co-chair of the consultative board under the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, also stressed, speaking on the cemetery problem, that, to use a sport phrase, “the ball is in the Ukrainian court.” The Polish side does not rule out new compromises on this matter, but Kyiv should also show goodwill. As Mr. Przewoznik told The Day, Warsaw has sent Kyiv a long series of proposals for the solution of this problem. Allegedly no answer has been received so far.
Another problem is the Polish construction of the oil pipeline from Brody to Plock to transport Caspian oil across Poland’s territory to Western Europe. While Ukraine built the Odesa-Brody pipeline last year (negotiations are still going on about filling it with oil), the Plock- bound segment is still to be constructed. Minister Cimoszewicz is convinced that “the project should be funded on a commercial basis,” while, in his words, official Warsaw firmly supports this endeavor. Yet, Ukraine should first pass the required laws to create investment- friendly conditions. At the same time, the influential newspaper Rzecz Pospolita has published an article that tries to prove that it is commercially unsound to continue building the Odesa-Brody pipeline as far as Plock and notes that the project is, above all, of political importance (which has in fact never been hidden). What is more, newspaper editors reportedly did not reserve space for the other side to argue back.
Polish support is also important now for Ukraine because the Ukraine-NATO Prague summit is round the corner. Until now, Warsaw was the only NATO member to fully support Ukraine’s intentions to get closer to the Alliance and to insist that Ukraine should receive its “European perspective.” Mr. Siwiec confessed to the Ukrainian journalists, “I am often asked why we want Ukraine to join the European Union so much. I say in reply: we want this as much as the Germans want Poland to join the EU. Or even more...” But these credits may also prove short-lived.
