Region: Medvedev visits Poland, then Brussels

Against a backdrop of a continued thaw in historically chilly relations, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit to Poland Dec. 6-7.

"This year has been eventful for our relations, and although it started tragically, we have managed to make progress lately in the development of Russian-Polish dialogue," he said at a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw Dec. 6, when he also met with Polish President Bronisław Komorowski.

Medvedev referred to the April 10 plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of other members of the Polish governing elite. Russian authorities are still investigating the accident, which occurred just outside the Russian city of Smolensk.

The outpouring of Russian support in the wake of the disaster has helped bridge longstanding gaps between the two countries.    

Medvedev said he hoped his visit would help to "intensify relations considerably and take them to a totally new level, and discuss the most complex issues of our history openly without tricks. Russia is ready for that."

On the eve of Medvedev's trip, the Russian Parliament passed a resolution officially blaming Josef Stalin for the 1940 Katyn massacre - an incident that saw 22,000 Polish prisoners of war killed.

"I have taken significant steps lately to make sure that the weight of the past that hangs over our relations, including the Katyn tragedy, remains in the past at all times and never burdens relations between our peoples again," Medvedev said.

But there was also plenty of more formal business on the table.

"We are very grateful for your willingness for open dialogue," Tusk said at a press conference. "I hope that we will continue to share common economic interests."

Medvedev urged Komorowski to continue pushing for stronger business ties between the two countries. Indeed, Komorowski and Medevedev did sign a series of agreements striking stronger cultural and economic ties.

The most important of these deals pledged cooperation on economic modernization.

"There is an opinion that practically all Russian energy projects are politicized, that Russia's wish is to turn Europe into an energy junkie for political gain," Medvedev said.

"We think that's absolute nonsense. There are big energy projects in Poland with regard to privatization that would be of interest to Russian entities."

Medvedev departed Warsaw early on the morning of Dec. 7, after laying a wreath at a memorial for Soviet war dead. He was en route to Brussels to attend a Russia-EU summit, with many expecting the biggest development to be a memorandum approving Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization.   

"Russia sees the EU as a real strategic partner, linked by sizable economic interdependence and common approaches to international and regional issues," the Kremlin said in a Dec. 7 e-mail sent to The Moscow Times.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com