CHANGING IN THE POLISH GOVERNMENT IS A CHANCE FOR KIEV

Evaluating new appointments in the Polish government on Tuesday, January 9, Ukrainian observers do not exclude changing Poland’s policy towards Ukraine. In their opinion, this is a chance for the authorities of Ukraine. It is reported by Upmp.news with the reference to Polish radio.

“Now there is only one party in Poland, Law and Justice, and changes of ministry`s heads would be impossible without a compromise within this party,” said Yevgeny Magda, executive director of the Institute of World Politics.

First of all, the expert pointed out on the changes of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense, in which, respectively, Witold Waschikovsky replaced Jacek Chaputovich, and Antony Matzerevich – Mariusz Blashchak.

“They were not replaced by totally new people, but politicians from Law and Justice. These changes, above all, are of the internal value”, – he emphasized. According to the political scientist, 2018 will be the next difficult period in relations between Ukraine and Poland, where this year the centenary of the independence is celebrated.

“This is also the hundredth anniversary of Ukrainian-Polish fights for Lviv”, – Magda reminded. He noted that in this regard, the authorities of both countries should look for platforms for mutual understanding in such areas as defense and energy cooperation.

“Therefore, I hope that changes in the Polish government will lead to a new relationship,” he said.

According to Volodymyr Gorban, the Ukrainian political analyst for the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and expert on foreign and domestic policy of Ukraine, changes in the Polish government were necessary to improve the situation in foreign policy. “The previous government of Poland has entered into a dispute not only with Ukraine, but also with many European states, especially with Brussels,” he said on the air of the TV channel “Priamyi”.

Speaking of his own expectations regarding Polish politics towards Ukraine, the political scientist noted that the new government is a chance for Kyiv. “We hope for a new Polish policy: the new government team wants to be better than the previous one. This is a chance for Ukraine to strengthen and improve relations with Poland”, – says Gorbach.

Speaking of political transformations in Warsaw, the Ukrainian media emphasize on the change of Minister for Foreign Affairs. Witold Waszczykowski is considered to lost his post mostly because of his anti-Ukrainian political position.

Vitaliy Portnikov, head of the Ukrainian part of the Polish-Ukrainian Partnership Forum under the patronage of foreign ministers of both states, warned that the resignation of Waszczykowski would not automatically improve relations on the Warsaw-Kyiv line.

“For me, it`s important that Waszczykowski, understanding the threat of losing his position, still believed that anti-Ukrainian rhetoric would help to save his post. This is a dangerous trend and, speaking of the improvement of Ukrainian-Polish relations, it is necessary to take into account this tendency”, – believes Vitaliy Portnikov.