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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's foreign minister on Wednesday accused Russia of trying to change the political order in Europe by destabilizing Eastern Europe, breaking trans-Atlantic unity and deepening divisions among European allies.
Jacek Czaputowicz described Russian resurgence today as an attempt to restore the power over Eastern Europe that Moscow lost following the collapse of Soviet-backed regimes in 1989.
"Russia is striving to revise the political order in Europe which emerged after 1989 and brought Poland a restoration of its independence," Czaputowicz said in a speech in parliament in which he outlined his foreign policy priorities for the year.
He accused Russia of seeking to inflame political divisions within European states and between them, "breaking up trans-Atlantic unity and deepening divisions within the European Union."
Those deepening divisions within the EU include Britain's decision to leave, as well as Poland's own disputes with EU bodies and other EU states that have erupted following the election in 2015 of the nationalist ruling party, Law and Justice.
Czaputowicz stressed, however, that despite some criticism of Brussels, his government seeks a strong EU. He described Poland's membership in the EU as a factor that strengthens Poland's position in the international arena and says it brings many political and economic benefits.
He also said that this year Poland would seek to obtain compensation from Germany for losses suffered World War II, when Poland was attacked and occupied by Nazi Germany. It is an issue that party leaders began raising last summer.
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