Poland wants to see everyone willing to pay tribute to the victims of World War II at this year's commemorative events dedicated to the start of the war, Polish presidential spokesman Blazej Spychalski said Thursday, commenting on the possibility of inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin
WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2019) Poland wants to see everyone willing to pay tribute to the victims of World War II at this year's commemorative events dedicated to the start of the war, Polish presidential spokesman Blazej Spychalski said Thursday, commenting on the possibility of inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin.The year of 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War it began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. The war ended on September 2, 1945, with the surrender of Japan.
Asked whether Warsaw had invited Putin to take part in the events, the spokesman only said that Russia "also took part in the Second World War" and that Warsaw wanted to see everyone who was willing to honor the memory of the victims of WWII.
"We are interested to have as many representatives of important countries from all over the world as possible ... [Poland will invite] representatives of different countries from all over the world: from Europe, from the United States, especially from those countries that took part in World War II," Spychalski told the RMF radio station.
Polish-Russian relations have become strained over recent years, in part due to claims about the alleged Russian military threat in the east and the probe into the fatal crash of a Polish jet airliner carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski in the Russian city of Smolensk in 2010.
In addition, Warsaw passed a so-called de-communization law in 2017, which opened the path for dismantling hundreds of Soviet army monuments in the country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has viewed the step as the launch of an anti-Russian campaign in the country, adding that Warsaw blamed every possible problem on Moscow.
