Current Polish foreign policy towards Poland’s eastern neighbour states: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine (October 2004 – February 2005)

Résumé du document

Poland has always lied at the crossroads of Europe, as suggested by the title of one of Norman Davies' famous history books Heart of Europe. Intermediate between the West and the East; buffer state; ally or enemy of the main European powers, Poland was once a very powerful country whose territory extended as far as the Black Sea. Towards the end of the 18th century, the Polish state had to overcome three subsequent partitions which finally led to the downfall: A hundred and twenty three years of complete disappearance from the map of Europe (1795 -1918). As a result of a common Slavic cultural heritage and tightly interwoven history – of which one mustn't forget fifty years of « communist rule » during the Cold War - Poland has had throughout the past decades a specific relation to its Eastern-neighbour countries, namely Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Of these three states, Russia has always stood as the most powerful one, greatly feared by the Poles. Since the collapse of the USSR and with it of the Russian domination over Eastern Europe, Poland has conducted a very Western-oriented foreign policy, joining NATO (in 1999) and - later on - the European Union (on 1rst of May 2004).

Extraits

[...] In 1997, President Lukashenko accused the Union of Poles Zwiazek Polakow na Bialorusi an organisation standing for Poles in Belarus, of setting rebellious events against the authorities. The latest litigious event dates back to late July 2005, when the Union of Poles again, was seriously accused of plotting against Lukashenko's regime : riot police with guns and dogs raided the Union of Poles headquarters in Grodno km west of Minsk, detaining those inside for several hours. Poles in Belarus begun to fear that Belorussians themselves could be taken in as a result of Lukashenko's propaganda and get to bash them personally. [...]

[...] gdyby Rosja zakręciła też kurek z ropą? [...]

[...] Polish minority in Belarus Polish minority in Belarus, article by Andrzej Grajewski,12th August 2005, onenet.pl : http://wiadomosci.onet.pl/1241439,2678,kioskart.html, Assessment of Poles living in Belarus, http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=37002 Belarus-Poland dispute escalates, BBC website July 2005, London http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4724013.stm http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/wyborcza/1,68586,3116232.html http://www.pbssopot.com.pl/x.php?x=257/PolskaRosja,- PolskaBialorus.html Opposition in Belarus Free Belarus organisations, http://wolnabialorus.org/ http://www.16freebelarus.org/ Radio free Europe http://www.rferl.org/reports/pbureport/ Russia Comment on Polish- Russian relations http://www.warsawvoice.pl/archiwum.phtml/1455/ G.Rzeczkowski, What if Russia decides to srew off the gas tap ? gdyby Rosja zakręciła też kurek z ropą? 5th Januray.2006, one net.pl Embargo on Polish meat http://gospodarka.gazeta.pl/gospodarka/1,33206,3009105.html http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/9917 Kaliningrad issue http://euro.pap.com.pl/cgi-bin/raporty.pl?rap=52 http://euro.pap.com.pl/cgi-bin/raporty.pl?rap=52&dep=68895&lista=0 President Putin's visit to Poland http://english.pravda.ru/world/2002/01/16/25744.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1764482.stm http://jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=25&issue_id=217 9&article_id=19083 Russia and the EU http://www.osw.waw.pl/files/PRACE_22.pdf http://www.tygodnik.com.pl/numer/274204/lukowski.html http://www.robert-schuman.org/synth74.htm As it twas the case under the great Polish-Lithuanian princedom in the XVth century. Poles live in Ukraine according to a 2001 census. [...]

[...] Poland is therefore a case at stake Since the collapse of the Soviet union, and especially since 1993, Polish- Russian relations have not been in their heydays, to say the least. In Polish minds, Russia has been associated to some extent with the Soviet Union which oppressed Poland for 50 years. The climax in the Polish-Russian troubled relations might have probably been reached when Russia, vehemently critized Poland -along with Hungary and the Czech republic - for joining NATO in 1999. [...]

[...] Consequently the relations with Poland are more tensed than ever, the latter state supporting democracy settlement in Belarus. Indeed, the soon –to-come presidential elections (march 2006) in Belarus arises high expectations in Poland. Medias are strongly supporting the Belarussian's cause and Belarus' opposition candidates. Even months before the elections, operations of support already took place in Poland, among them : Dnia Solidarnorsci z Bialorusia[15] which invites Poles to express their solidarity to the people of Belarus, by lighting a candle every 16th of each month. [...]