Klimkin: Poland may block Ukraine’s European integration

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said that Poland’s policy toward Ukraine is increasingly resembling Russia’s behavior, and has not ruled out that Warsaw will block Kyiv’s European integration.

His words were reported by Liga.net.

In Klimkin’s view, Polish President Karol Nawrocki will not abandon his current course toward Ukraine. Such a scenario, the former minister believes, will provoke a negative reaction within the EU but will embolden “pro-Russian forces.”

“I think he will definitely try to make this issue [of historical contradictions] a precondition for our progress toward EU membership… And very many people will take advantage of this situation,” Klimkin said.

According to him, “the Poles have not simply reached a dead end, but have put themselves in a very undignified situation.” Klimkin called on Poland to decide whether it can be a positive force in the EU.

Relations between Warsaw and Kyiv deteriorated after Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest honor — the Order of the White Eagle. The reason was the naming of a Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade after Nazi collaborators who carried out the Volhynia massacre. The Polish government stated that only Moscow would “benefit” from the president’s decision.

In Ukraine, Nawrocki’s move drew criticism. In a show of solidarity with Zelensky, diplomats, the head of the presidential office, and former presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko renounced their Polish awards. Zelensky himself returned his order to Nawrocki by mail.

Earlier, Poland stated that Ukraine would not join the EU without Warsaw’s consent.