Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs: There are no anti-Polish sentiments in Ukraine
There are no anti-Polish sentiments in Ukraine and the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians see Poland as a friend, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said on Friday, November 3rd, in response to a statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, in which he threatened to deny entry to Ukrainians who are against Poland.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though acknowledging certain differences between Ukraine and Poland concerning their perception of the events from the past, said this had no impact on Ukrainian’s perceptions of their neighbor.
“We would like to emphasize that there are no anti-Polish sentiments and that the majority of Ukrainians have a friendly predisposition towards Poland, despite existing differences in our complex historical past. On the contrary, in Ukrainian society, there is a clear understanding of the need to strengthen collaboration with Poland in the interest of the two nations and the whole of Europe,” the Ministry said in their statement.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that in order to bridge these differences the countries must be careful not to impose their own view of the historical past.
“Some time ago we reached an understanding with Poland that settling historical issues is only possible through a widely known European Christian premise: to ask for forgiveness and to forgive. We are convinced that bridging differences is done through mutual acceptance and not by pressing one’s own viewpoints,” the Ministry said.