Sikorski: Ukraine has no objection regarding exhumation of Volyn tragedy victims on its territory
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, after a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, said that Kyiv had assured him that there were no obstacles to the search and exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Ukraine.
Sikorski said this at a press conference in Warsaw, Censor.NET reports citing PAP.
According to the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, he discussed with Sibiga the future of Ukraine in the EU, and a declaration on exhumation in Volyn will be adopted as a result of the meeting.
Ukraine confirms that there are no obstacles for Polish state institutions and individuals to cooperate with the relevant Ukrainian institutions to conduct search and exhumation work on the territory of Ukraine in accordance with Ukrainian law, and declares its readiness to positively consider applications in these matters," Sikorski emphasized.
For his part, Sybiha said that both Kyiv and Warsaw are interested in eliminating misunderstandings in historical issues.
"Every family has the right to honor the memory of their ancestors with dignity, and within the framework of a joint Ukrainian-Polish working group under the auspices of the ministries of culture of both countries, we are working on practical mechanisms for conducting search and exhumation work," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said.
The issue of exhumation of victims of the Volyn tragedy
As reported, in September, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that without resolving the issue of exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine cannot dream of joining the EU. At the same time, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that attempts to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union play into the hands of Vladimir Putin's policy.
During his visit to Warsaw on October 1, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine is ready to discuss with Poland controversial issues of common history, including the Volyn tragedy of 1943-1944.
On October 2, the UINR stated that they plan to conduct search operations for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in 2025. The Institute also stated that it remains open to cooperation with Polish institutions in the field of searching, preserving and caring for the places of memory of Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine, and complained that official inter-institutional mechanisms for resolving problematic issues with the Polish side in the restoration and preservation of places of memory have not been in place for a long time.
Drobovych believes that Ukrainian and Polish officials need to finally move to constructive action "in the problematic issues of exhumation and burials" and proposed a "road map".
On October 4, Poland's Defense Minister reiterated his intention to block Ukraine's accession to the EU until the issue of exhumation and commemoration of the victims of the Volyn tragedy is resolved.
