Piotr Gliński, Oleksandr Tkachenko and Simonas Kairys held three-way talks in Poland’s historic southern city of Kraków on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The trilateral Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian format is known as the Lublin Triangle, according to officials.
Joint declaration, Polish-Ukrainian memorandum of cooperation
During their talks at Kraków’s Wawel Castle, the three ministers signed a joint declaration reaffirming Poland and Lithuania’s “full support” for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, as well as “a willingness to develop cultural cooperation” between Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania, “on many levels, both now and in the future,” the PAP news agency reported.
Moreover, Gliński and Tkachenko signed a memorandum of cooperation between Poland and Ukraine in documenting the damage inflicted on Ukraine’s architecture and archaeological sites as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion, officials said.
Poland’s Gliński told reporters: “It’s a sign that we stand strongly and firmly together, not just in the field of culture, but in every dimension of our Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian relations.”
The Polish culture minister added: “It sends a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that we are aware of his country's intention to divide nations, to interfere with our existence, and it brings us even closer together. We are capable of overcoming various contrasting experiences from the past and building joint projects.”
Gliński declared: “This is the basic message. We stand together, we are strengthening our relations and slowly we are also becoming ready to resolve difficult issues.”
Exhibition about Vilnius
On Tuesday evening, Gliński, Tkachenko and Kairys attended the opening of an exhibition about the Lithuanian capital Vilnius at the National Museum in Kraków, the PAP news agency reported.
Entitled Wilno, Vilnius, Vilne 1918-1948: One City - Many Stories, the show brings together paintings, photographs and sculptures in a nostalgic look at the “multicultural and multi-ethnic city” during “a very complex period in its history,” Poland’s Gliński said.
Between 1918 and 1948, Vilnius went from being a part of Poland to being a part of Lithuania and then enduring both Nazi and Soviet Red Army occupation, according to historians.
The Polish culture minister said: “It’s a surprising, many-sided and very intriguing exhibition. This is what cultural cooperation between two nations should be like and what it is like between Poland and Lithuania."
‘Whole world has a duty to support Ukraine’: Polish culture minister
Gliński said he was happy he could attend the event with Lithuania’s Kairys and Ukraine’s Tkachenko, telling reporters that “Ukraine has inherited the Republican traditions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its citizens’ love of freedom.”
The Polish culture minister added: “The barbaric attack launched by Putin’s Russia on our neighbours is seeking to destroy these values. It’s not a coincidence that we’re meeting here. We all have a humanitarian duty. The whole world has a duty to support Ukraine in its war effort against Russian aggression."
Wednesday is day 455 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, Wilno, Vilnius, Vilne 1918-1948