The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed a statement in connection with the adoption by the Polish Sejm and Senate of resolutions on July 7 and July 22 2016 on the assessment of the Ukrainian-Polish conflict in World War II, which offers Polish side to stop politicizing the tragic pages in the history of that period.
A total of 247 MPs voted for a relevant resolution at an evening meeting on Sept. 8.
During the discussion, the words “Volyn” and “Volyn tragedy” were removed from the draft resolution, they are mentioned only in the names of joint declarations adopted previously.
“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine […] addresses the Polish counterpart with a proposal to stop politicizing tragic pages of the Ukrainian-Polish history and to focus their efforts on building a constructive relationship between the two countries to strengthen partnerships in a democratic Europe based on European values,” the statement reads.
The Ukrainian parliament also calls on historians to conduct professional dialogue with a view to disclose all hitherto unexplained facts and circumstances of the history based on authentic archive materials, leaving a space for each party to interpret historical facts, and politicians of Ukraine and Poland – to stop using historical science to gain temporary political benefits.
Lawmakers call for current and future generations of Ukrainians and Poles to continue strategic partnership and “not to succumb to the attempts of some political forces to manipulate the sensitive pages of the past to the detriment of the interests of the Ukrainian and Polish peoples.”
