Moscow Slams Warsaw's Reaction To Request For Transcript Of Kaczynski's Call Before Crash

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2020) Moscow is surprised by Warsaw's reaction to its request for the transcript of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski's conversation with his brother, held shortly before the deadly plane crash over Russia, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday.

Earlier this week, Russia requested Poland to provide this transcript, soon after reports about its existence emerged in Polish media. According to the reports, Kaczynski and his brother touched upon "an aspect related to the flight." The transcript is reportedly attached to the Polish criminal case. A source involved in the probe confirmed to Sputnik that Poland does have the transcript but declined to elaborate on its content. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said that Russia's request was "provocative."

"I would like to express our bewilderment over Warsaw's inappropriate reaction. Perhaps, this just does not fit in the conspiracy theory, which Poland has been promoting for several years and which contradicts facts described in reports by the Interstate Aviation Committee and the Polish State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation," Zakharova said at a briefing.

"The Office of Russia's Prosecutor General expects an official response to its request, not just Polish media reports," the spokeswoman added.

On April 10, 2010, the Tu-154 plane with Kaczynski and other high-ranking Polish officials on board crashed while landing at the Smolensk North Airport. There were 96 people on board, including 88 passengers and eight crew members who flew to the funeral events in Katyn. They all died in the crash. The Polish commission for the re-investigation of the incident has put forward various versions of what happened, one of which is the deliberate actions of Russian air traffic controllers.