Polish Foreign Ministry has declassified document from 2008 on the transition to a pro-Russian course
The Polish Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, disclosed the details of a secret document about the country's transition to a pro-Russian course in 2008, the Polish news agency PAP reported.
The document is dated March 4th, 2008, and is called the "Theses on the Polish policy towards Russia and Ukraine." In 2008, only four people had access to the document, among which was Radosław Sikorski, who was at that time the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"Even without mentioning huge economic interests of Poland in Russia, which concerns not only the energy sector, that plays an important role in relations of Poland with Russia and Europe, as well as the mutual cultural and intellectual interests, it is necessary to note that an active dialogue with Russia is of great political value for Poland," the text of the document states.
The authors of the document noted that for the West, Russia is an important ally in the fight against Islamic terrorism, as well as "a large storage of resources that can significantly support the economy of the Western world."
The document also proposed using a "realistic" and "friendly-critical" approach towards Ukraine.
Waszczykowski said that this document became "the beginning of the switch from the pro-Ukrainian policy to a pro-Russian one."
"The authors had no illusions about its success but decided that the pro-Russian [position] will be a kind of a tool, the trick in relations with the West. In this way they wanted to improve their reputation in the West," the Polish Agency reported quoting Waszczykowski as saying.
In recent years Poland adhered to a pro-Ukrainian position. In November 2016, Waszczykowski named the conditions for the normalization of Poland’s relations with Russia.