Russian Ambassador to Poland partly apologizes for blaming Poland for starting WWII

Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev has partly apologized for saying recently that Poland bears some responsibility for the outbreak of World War II. Andreev now says it was a "poor interpretation."

Following his comments last week, Andreev was called in for a meeting with Poland's foreign ministry to discuss why he blamed Warsaw for starting the war against Hitler. Andreev now admits that he spoke clumsily, saying he never wished to insult the Polish people, adding that they played in important role in the battle against Nazi aggression.

"If we talk about the policies of the Polish government in the 1930s, however, Poland, unfortunately, became a victim of its own policies," Andreev observed.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that Russian-Polish relations will improve in the near future, though he still believes that the relationship today is at its worst level since 1945. “We expect our Polish colleagues to take steps to resume contacts and improve the atmosphere of our relationship,” Andreev said.

TASS

• On September 25, the Polish television network TVN24 aired an interview with Ambassador Andreev, where he declared that Poland bears some responsibility for the beginning of World War II, saying that it was Poland's policy in the 1930s to block the formation of an anti-Hitler coalition between the West and the Soviet Union.