Presidents Komorowski and Medvedev in Russia today before Smolensk disaster ceremony; photo - PAP"President [Komorowski] and I will provide support for this project," the Russian president said after a meeting with Komorowski in Smolensk.
The Russian and Polish presidents were in Smolensk today for a ceremony in honour to all those who died in the tragedy one year ago.
President Komorowski said that the monument project will be realised with the help of the Polish Ministry of Culture.
Komorowski noted that any inscription on the monument will be in both Polish and Russian, and its contents will be agreed upon by both parties.
"This is particularly important in the context of the events of recent days," said Komorowski, alluding to a plaque which was unveiled at the site where the plane crashed on 10 April last year which had the wording on it changed at the last minute on Saturday by the Russian side to remove any mention of the 1940 Katyn disaster.
President Kaczynski was on his way to a Katyn memorial ceremony when the plane crashed near the airport in Smolensk.
The Russian president also referred to the investigation into the causes of the Smolensk disaster, which has created tension between the two nations, with Russia blaming Polish pilot error for the tragedy, with many back in Poland demanding Russia take some of the blame, if not all.
The results of the Russian Inter-State Committee (MAK) investigation are known "and can be interpreted differently, but everything has been completed," Medvedev said.
Katyn
President Komorowski then attended a ceremony to mark the 71st anniversary of the Katyn Massacre, when Stalin’s security forces murdered 22,000 Polish officers. The ceremony opened to the sound of a tolling bell and was also attended by Dmitry Medvedev, who paid tribute to the murdered officers resting at the Polish War Cemetery in Katyn.
Both leaders laid wreaths.
Accompanying the heads of state were 220 relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre.
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source:
PAP