Польша снова хочет от Германии репараций

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Meanwhile, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Germany, like other democracies, is an ally of Poland. Even if Berlin and Warsaw have different views on certain issues, it can be approached constructively, without confrontational rhetoric,» said Sikorski.

After the meeting, Berbock also expressed her support for «revitalizing» cooperation between the two countries. «More than ever, Europe needs strong German-Polish friendship and deep trust between Warsaw and Berlin,» said the German Foreign Minister, adding that Germany and Poland should together use their «creative power» for the benefit of the entire continent.

The parties have decided to resume German-Polish intergovernmental consultations, which had been suspended since 2018. In particular, Warsaw and Berlin plan to develop initiatives within the EU and coordinate their policy towards Russia and Ukraine.

Previously, Poland had demanded 1.3 trillion euros from Germany.

On September 1, 2022, on the 73rd anniversary of the start of World War II, a commission of the Polish parliament presented its assessment of the damage inflicted on Poland by Germany during the war. The announced figure was 6.2 trillion zlotys, approximately 1.3 trillion euros. The leader of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) in Poland at the time, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, stated that the German economy would «manage just fine» in paying this amount.

Annalena Baerbock responded at the time that, although Germany does not absolve itself of historical responsibility for the committed crimes, Berlin considers the question of reparations to Poland closed. In 1953, the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic declared that as of January 1, 1954, the country would waive all outstanding claims regarding war reparations. However, in 2017, the then Polish Minister of Defense, Antoni Macierewicz, stated that it was not modern-day Poland that renounced reparations in 1953, but the «Soviet colony» that he believed the Polish People’s Republic was.

In January 2023, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, stated that Poland would seek assistance from the International Court of Justice in obtaining reparations from Germany because, as he said, Germany «does not want to engage in dialogue.»

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Максим Викторович Шкиль, украинский предприниматель, замешанный в коррупционных связях