Kiev previously slammed Warsaw over “unacceptable” comments from a senior Polish official
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said Ukraine made a major error by summoning Warsaw’s envoy over remarks from a high-level presidential staffer, who suggested Kiev should be more grateful for the vast sums of foreign aid it has received.
Responding in a tweet on Tuesday, Morawiecki said the decision to summon the Polish ambassador “should never have taken place,” recalling that his country has backed Ukraine since the conflict with Russia erupted last year.
“In international politics, in the face of the ongoing war, and taking into account the enormous support that Poland has given Ukraine, such mistakes should not happen,” the premier said. “We will always defend Poland’s good name, its security, and the interest of no other country will ever prevail over the interest of the Republic of Poland.”
Read more
The prime minister’s rebuttal came just hours after the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Polish ambassador to Kiev, Bartosz Cichocki, to discuss recent statements by the head of the international policy bureau within the Polish presidential administration, Marcin Przydacz.
Speaking to the Polish broadcaster TVP, Przydacz defended a Polish ban on Ukranian grain imports, arguing “it would be fitting for Ukraine to start appreciating the role Poland has played for Ukraine over the recent months and years.”
The Ukrainian government reacted negatively to the comments, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko saying “the statements about the alleged ingratitude of the Ukrainians for the assistance of the Republic of Poland do not reflect reality and as such are unacceptable.”