Polish president denies strong-armed Georgia, NATO remarks

Yesterday Polish President Lech Kaczynski denied having suggested that Poland would scuttle EU negotiations with Russia unless Georgia and Ukraine are put on a definite path to NATO membership.

“There was no such utterance by me. I said that at the present moment we should give thought to this. That’s the gist of my statement,” Kaczynski said in Helsinki.

An April 9 Reuters article said the Polish president commented that major European countries had effectively given Russia a veto over NATO decisions after the alliance refused to allow Georgia and Ukraine to proceed to the next stage of integration at its Bucharest summit last week.

Russia voiced its staunch opposition to the pair’s NATO ambitions in the run-up to the summit, at which Georgia hoped to receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP).

“Only people who are not completely informed in political issues would think that what happened with the MAP in case of Georgia and Ukraine had not anything to do with Russia’s opposition,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Reuters questioned the Polish president about lifting Warsaw’s veto on partnership talks between the EU and Russia. In response, he seemed to link NATO MAPs for Ukraine and Georgia to Polish cooperation on the talks.

"We certainly should talk, we certainly should build atmosphere in which mistrust is reduced. But whether the strategic [EU-Russia] talks can be unblocked in the near future is another matter,” the news agency quotes him as saying. "I would first like to know how the issue of MAP for Ukraine and Georgia is going to be resolved."

Kaczynski’s swift denial of Reuter’s interpretation of his remarks undercuts Tbilisi officials, who had earlier praised his comments.

Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze thanked Kaczynski yesterday, adding, “I am sure other democratic states will respond to this statement and express their support for us.”

Foreign Minister Davit Bakradze described Kaczynski’s reported position as “honorable,” praising Poland for a bold move.

“We appreciate this statement… Despite some skeptics, Georgia is not alone in Europe and we will triumph for sure, together with friends like this,” Bakradze said yesterday.

Moscow’s response was equally rapid. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian Duma, described the reported statement as “scandalous.”

“Kaczynski has given a scandalous statement, which is not in accordance with Russian-EU relations and Russian-NATO relations, and it will make it settling disputed issues more difficult. This is another headache for the EU,” he said.

At the Bucharest summit a bloc of NATO member states led by Germany and France decided against inviting Georgia and Ukraine closer to the alliance. Georgian leaders instead took home a statement pledging eventual accession.