Poroshenko refused the Order of the White Eagle, but called for an urgent resolution of the crisis between Ukraine and Poland
Фото: "Європейська Солідарність"
The fifth president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, announced that he is renouncing the Polish Order of the White Eagle. At the same time, Poroshenko called for an urgent halt to the escalation of this crisis in relations between the two neighboring states and the restoration of a strategic partnership.
He wrote about this on Facebook .
“If we quarrel over the past, someone else will win the future. The President of Ukraine must finally understand this. The President of Poland too. Before it’s too late!” These are the words of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “Only Moscow can be the winner in the war for history and orders,” is the opinion of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. I agree with both of them, because they are in the top ten,” Poroshenko emphasized.
He stated that he considers the decision of the President of Poland Karol Nawrocki erroneous and unfair to the Ukrainian people. According to him, the Kremlin always supports any steps that weaken the unity between Ukraine and Poland. He also emphasized that in the case of Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as in his own case, the award was not given to heads of state, but to Ukrainians and military personnel who defend Ukraine, Poland and all of Europe, so he decided to refuse the Order of the White Eagle.
“Two weeks ago, I promised my colleagues at the conciliation council to take this step if we did not manage to convince President Navrotsky not to make the wrong decision. Unfortunately, we did not succeed. So, despite the fact that the illegal anti-constitutional decision of the Ukrainian authorities due to sanctions deprived me of all state awards, I decided to renounce the Order of the White Eagle. This is my gesture in response to the decision of the President of Poland. But this step is in no way addressed to the Polish people!”, Poroshenko said.
The fifth president also stressed that his gratitude to Poland for its support for Ukraine remains unchanged, as does his belief in the strategic value of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership. He added that he respects the Polish politicians with whom he built partnership relations, and emphasized that those who objectively assess history understand that after Ukraine lost its independence, Poland also lost it.
“But the past should not determine our relations. I do not want Poles to edit our textbooks and I do not in any way claim that we Ukrainians should correct Polish textbooks, because otherwise they will send us a joint textbook from Moscow,” he warned.
Poroshenko suggested asking a number of questions about the reasons for the current aggravation of Ukrainian-Polish relations. In particular, he called for reflection on who allowed historical disputes to return to the center of the bilateral agenda and why, in his opinion, only Moscow benefits from this escalation.
“Logistics is extremely important in this war. Ukraine is destroying the enemy’s logistics in the occupied Crimea every day, trying to complicate the supply of the Russian army. In return, Russia, through its agents of influence, through useful idiots, and through old historical wounds, is trying to destroy our logistics in the west – where the key routes of support for Ukraine pass. For us, Rzeszow is not just a Polish city. It is one of the symbols of international solidarity with Ukraine. Therefore, any crisis between Kyiv and Warsaw today is not only a problem of diplomacy. It is a security issue. And that is why it needs to be resolved immediately,” Poroshenko believes.
He also stressed that it is important not to deepen the conflict, but to end it. He recalled the words of Pope John Paul II, “We forgive and ask for forgiveness,” and suggested starting Monday to seek solutions that would help turn the current crisis into a new stage of Ukrainian-Polish partnership.
“Politicians can afford political gestures, but diplomats should not throw orders, but overcome the crisis. By the way, it goes beyond bilateral relations, because Poland during my time has become and should continue to be our main advocate on the path to membership in the EU and NATO. And now the main thing for Ukrainian diplomacy is to preserve this achievement and strengthen our internal unity in the fight for ambitious external goals. It is in this logic that I made my decision,” Poroshenko concluded.
Recall that Polish President Karol Nawrotsky signed a decision to deprive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle in connection with the awarding of the honorary title “named after the Heroes of the UPA” to the Separate Special Operations Center “North” of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga announced that he would return the Commander’s Cross with the Star of the Order of Merit to Poland. At the same time, the head of the Presidential Office , Kyrylo Budanov, and the deputy head of the Presidential Office, Ihor Zhovkva, announced the return of Polish state awards. They made this decision after Polish President Karol Nawrotsky stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle.
At the same time, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and third Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko refused the Order of the White Eagle , which they received from Poland.
Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , X , Telegram , and Instagram.