Polish President Andrzej made rare and controversial remarks likening holding peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin was similar to talking with German Dictator Adolf Hitler during World War II.
The statement comes as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have both held one-on-one phone calls with the Russian president since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Putin and Hitler
Particularly, Macron stirred Ukrainian ire by saying that Russia must not be "humiliated: so as to preserve chances of a diplomatic solution. In an interview that was first released on YouTube late on Wednesday, Duda said that such discussions only legitimized an illegal war in Ukraine.
The Polish president then questioned if anyone spoke the same of Hitler during World War II, asking if anyone said that the German dictator must save face. The official questioned if the world should have proceeded in such a way that it was not humiliating for Hitler, as per Reuters.
The war in Ukraine, which Moscow described as a "special military operation" to stamp out perceived threats to its security, has flattened cities, killed thousands of civilians, and forced over seven million people to flee their home country.
On the other hand, Ukraine and its Western allies have criticized Russia and said that Moscow was waging an unprovoked war to grab territory. In a joint call with Putin on May 28, Scholz and Macron urged the Russian president to release the 2,500 Ukrainian fighters captured at Mariupol's Avozstal steel plant and to speak directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the New York Post, Zelensky also questioned Macron's remarks, saying that he did not understand what was humiliating Russia. He then continued to say that for the past eight years, Moscow has been killing Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian president expressed frustration at his French counterpart's remarks, given what he described as Macron's "profound understanding" and awareness of Russia's repeated breaches of international accords, cease-fire, and prisoner exchange agreements.
Russia's Continued Invasion of Ukraine
Zelensky said that Russians were not simply humiliating Ukraine, calling it a weak position, and instead argued that they were killing them. The Ukrainian president said that in response, they were not going to humiliate anyone but were going to respond in kind.
Duda's remark comes after years of simmering tensions between Poland and the two Western EU powerhouses who have differed widely on several issues, including migration and judicial reform within Poland. But for Jewish groups within Germany, the Polish president's comments relativize the Holocaust and should be viewed critically.
Furthermore, Warsaw has complained of Germany's reluctance to send heavy weapons to Ukraine, including accusations that replacement tanks promised to the Polish government by Berlin show no signs of arrival.
Duda said that as far as he knew, they have received nothing at all, noting that his administration has given its tanks away and now has nothing to replace them. However, the Polish president did not mention that Germany had warned the tanks could take quite some time before they were ready to be shipped.
He then continued to criticize German businesses, arguing that for some of them, "what happens to Ukraine or Poland "was of no concern, especially those still doing business with Moscow, DW News reported.
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