Arkadiusz Mularczyk made the assessment at a news conference in the German capital on Wednesday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
He spoke to the media at the end of a two-day working visit to Berlin, during which he met with German Deputy Foreign Minister Anna Luehrmann; a senior German foreign ministry official, Andreas Michaelis; the prime minister of the northeastern German state of Brandenburg, Hubert Dietmar Woidke; and the German Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Construction, Klara Geywitz, according to the Polish state news agency PAP.
Ukraine, EU, WWII
Mularczyk said the talks had focused on support for war-torn Ukraine, Poland’s push for compensation for World War II from Germany and ways to unblock EUR 23.9 billion in grants and EUR 11.5 billion in loans for Poland from the European Union's pandemic relief fund.
Mularczyk told reporters: “I would like to emphasise that the atmosphere during meetings was very good and although difficult issues were raised, we sought to understand each other’s perspective.”
He added: “I believe that it is precisely in an atmosphere of dialogue and agreement that we must look into the difficult issues in Polish-German relations and seek ways to solve them.”
Support for Ukraine
Mularczyk stressed that “both Poland and Germany, as well as the entire European Union, must staunchly support Ukraine,” while Russia “must be held accountable for the crimes it is committing in Ukraine.”
He added: “I am pleased that my interlocutors emphasised the fact that Poland plays an important role in supporting Ukraine … by welcoming millions of refugees and providing humanitarian and military assistance.”
‘Just unblock the funding for Poland'
Mularczyk told reporters that “it is vital that EU funding is unblocked for Poland under the National Recovery Plan because the Polish economy needs it.”
He added: “When German politicians asked me how they can support Poland and Ukraine, I replied: ‘just unblock the funding for Poland under the National Recovery Plan.'”
He argued that these funds were "vital for the Polish economy" and “for further active support of Ukraine.”
Compensation for WWII
Mularczyk said he had also raised the issue of compensation for the losses Poland suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II, the IAR news agency reported.
He added it was “an issue of absolutely fundamental importance for our country, for Polish-German relations, and we firmly believe it should be resolved through dialogue.”
Mularczyk told reporters he had also "stressed the lack of a memorial" in Berlin to over 5 million Polish victims of Nazi Germany during World War II.
“I am convinced that the German government will do everything to ensure that such a memorial is built in the most fitting place,” he said.
He added he believed his talks "on the issue of compensation for World War II" would "spark reflection among German politicians about this topic and the fact that it cannot be swept under the carpet.”
Wednesday was day 287 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, dziennik.pl