Bronislaw Komorowski: I am against talking to Moscow without Belarus!
Polish presidential contenders offer opposite views of Polish foreign policy towards Belarus in their televised debates on Sunday.
In the view of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, today's Belarus is a very complex problem. One needs to combine both the tough and soft pressure methods in order to solve it.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski: "I know that with regimes like Lukashenka's regime, talks can make sense only when you have arguments both in the form of pressure and in the form of incentives. And, we pursued this policy. Of course, totally unofficially we talked to representatives of this regime".
Besides, Kaczynski described the resignation of Anzhalika Borys from the post of the leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus as a defeat of the Polish policy in the East. In order to resolve the Belarusian problem and to protect the Polish ethnic minority in Belarus, Moscow's help is needed, reckons Kaczynski.
Bronislaw Komorowksi, the speaker of the Polish parliament, disagrees. In his view, talks with Moscow about Minsk are political nonsense.
Bronislaw Komorowski: “This confronts totally with Poland's national interests. Besides, it is unacceptable in international politics. This is the same as if Belarusians talked about Polish affairs also with Russia or Berlin. I disagree with it".
Despite the West being unable to resolve the Belarus issue, Poland has a chance to correct it in the framework of EU's integrated foreign policy. Only Europe's strong voice can influence Alyaksandr Lukashenka, reckons Bronislaw Komorowski. One needs to beging with non-governmental organizations.
Bronislaw Komorowski: “In my view, one should stake not only on strengthening the Polish organizations which are the biggest organizational forms of the third sector but also on other non-governmental organizations. This is the basement of a democratic society. It should be constructed slowly”.
According to Bronislaw Komorowski, the independent media that broadcast from the territory of Poland to Belarus as well as the bilateral agreements on visa-free travel for residents from trans-border territories in the two countries create favorable conditions for this. Returning back home from Poland, Belarusians will understand democracy and market economy better. "Step by step, we will bring Belarus in line with democratic standards",says Sejm speaker.
Photo: bronislawkomorowski.pl
