WARSAW, December 8. / TASS /. Russia and Poland need to cooperate in some areas because it would be more profitable for the East European nation than cooperation with the West, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Poland Lech Walesa told TASS on Wednesday.
"Of course, Moscow is closer to Gdansk than Washington. There are certain things, certain types of cooperation that would be more profitable here than in the West. I believe so and I’m going to strive for closer cooperation [between our countries], since this can boost the well-being of our peoples. We need to find common ground, give ourselves freedom and cooperate well. Right now, we are lacking this," the former Polish leader noted.
Walesa emphasized that he was sorely disappointed with the current level of relations between Poland and Russia. "I am dissatisfied. We have awful politicians. We are not taking advantage of this opportunity. And there are many [of them]," the Noble prize winner stressed. "Neither one nor the other want to compromise and because of this, we are suffering losses. We need to sort this out. If I had the opportunity, I would try to fix this," he maintained.
The veteran Polish politician also noted that in order to improve the situation, it was necessary to discuss the issues of the past and the current opportunities separately. "I would divide the relations into two parts. The first one covers all that’s in the past - history - and consider who owes what to whom and how much. And the second one is working for common interests to make a profit. When two people are at each other’s throats, a third one takes advantage of this. Our quarrels are used by others. Therefore, I would seek agreements that are beneficial for both parties in all spheres of life," Walesa stated.
On May 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during the credentials presentation ceremony told Poland’s new envoy to Russia Krzysztof Krajewski that Russian-Polish ties could be more meaningful and productive, especially considering that the two states were neighbors in the Baltic region. According to the Russian president, some challenging issues that built up in bilateral relations could be resolved by acting on the basis of pragmatism and by considering each other's interests. Krajewski described this statement as a positive sign for relations with Poland, which fully corresponds to Warsaw’s stance.