Honoring the memory of the victims in the Volyn
tragedy by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is a very important gesture for
Ukrainian-Polish reconciliation, Polish President Andrzej Duda told Polsat News
TV channel on air.
"This is an
extremely important gesture, a gesture of peace. I took it as a gesture of
friendship and I think that it should be positively evaluated by all. I hope
that even those people who perceives these dramatic events very personally will
positively respond to the gesture made by Ukrainian President, and we can build
on this [foundation our future – ed]," said Duda.
He noted that during his
bilateral meeting with Poroshenko in Warsaw during the NATO Summit they
discussed the issue of complicated pages of history.
"Certain events
have to be recognized; on the other hand some other events should be abandoned.
I hope that Ukrainian laws that had been adopted some time ago will be amended
as this is necessary for historical truth and to solve [historical problems -
ed.]. If we take these steps, then we will have a chance for voicing the
historical truth, but after some time and its perception," Duda noted.
Poland marks the
anniversary of the tragic events in Volyn in 1943-1944 on July 11.
Ukraine and Poland view
the tragic events in Volyn and eastern Galicia in 1943-1944 differently. Polish
historians blame the killing of civilians solely on the OUN and the UPA, while
the majority of Ukrainian historians believe the blame for these crimes is
shared by both sides. Poland argues that as a result of the ethnic cleansing
100,000 Poles and from 5,000 to 10,000 Ukrainians were murdered. However
Ukraine is talking about scores of thousands of killed Poles and more than
10,000 killed Ukrainians.
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