Polish, Ukrainian leaders fail to resolve history issues at NATO talks

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said historical disagreements with Ukraine remain unresolved following talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Speaking at a press conference after the roughly hour-long meeting, Nawrocki said the two leaders discussed a broad range of bilateral issues and future cooperation, but made no breakthrough on sensitive historical matters.

“Recently, there has been considerable tension around Polish-Ukrainian relations. What has certainly not changed is that for both Ukraine and Poland, the main threat remains Russia. We are looking in the same direction. When it comes to threats to our independence, this has not changed. However, we were unable to resolve historical issues at this meeting. We also did not approach (this meeting — ed.) with the hope that all issues would be resolved,” he said.

Nawrocki underlined that issues related to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) “are not subject to discussion.”

“We expect Ukraine to understand that the Bandera flag also limits Ukraine’s future in the European Union; it carries many negative symbols,” he added.

Despite the differences, the Polish president described the meeting as positive, saying the talks were “constructive, as always,” with both sides reaffirming their positions and discussing prospects for continued cooperation.

By Tamilla Hasanova