For the sake of the Polish people I sure hope their leaders understand what they are doing.
Being a stalking horse out in front of the U.S. and NATO and especially the EU, is a very dangerous position. And in addition, they've accepted something on the order of three million Ukrainians who crossed the border, an extraordinary humanitarian act on a national scale, but one that can't go on forever. So here's wishing the Poles the best.
From Asia Times, April 25:
The new hardline demand by Poland, which will most probably be joined by Baltic NATO members, will never be acceptable to Russia
Poland is preparing to raise the diplomatic stakes significantly against Russian President Vladimir Putin by calling for the removal of the Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine as a condition for easing crushing economic sanctions imposed on Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The new demand for the withdrawal of all Russian troops came during an interview of Poland’s ambassador to the United States, Marek Magierowski, by Carlyle co-founder and co-chairman David Rubenstein of the Economic Club of Washington on April 20.
“I will give you some very specific conditions. These are not yet official, and this is my personal view. If we want to even start thinking about easing up those restrictions or lifting part of the sanctions, there are some obvious conditions,” Magierowski told Rubenstein, adding: “First of all, Russia has to withdraw all its troops, not just from Ukraine proper, but also from Crimea and all those territories that were annexed in 2014.”
Magierowski’s demand for complete withdrawal of the Russian military from Crimea, including the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, is a major diplomatic escalation on the part of Poland, as it would mark a Russian military defeat even surpassing that of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, a defeat that led to the eventual downfall and execution of Czar Nicholas II.
Notwithstanding his statement as “not yet official,” Magierowski, who served as Poland’s deputy foreign minister prior to his appointment to Washington, leaves no doubt that there is any light between himself and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Kremlin watchers deemed reliable, including the former US ambassador to Moscow and current CIA director, Bill Burns, believe that Putin’s impulsive decision to annex Crimea in 2014 stemmed from disinformation from his inner cabinet. The United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization wanted to kick the Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea after the Euromaidan protest ousted kleptocratic Russian ally Viktor Yanukovych from power....
....MUCH MORE
