The authorities in Tbilisi have destroyed the integrity of Georgia by attacking South Ossetia, writes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in GAZETA WYBORCZA.

Press reviewed by Aleksander Kropiwnicki

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is arriving in Warsaw on Thursday. This morning he published a large article in GAZETA WYBORCZA, where he writes that Georgia, and not Russia started the recent conflict in the Caucasus. The authorities in Tbilisi have destroyed the integrity of Georgia with their own hands, by the decision of attacking South Ossetia. Poland should stop supporting Georgia, and perhaps also Ukraine. Mr. Lavrov has suggested that Warsaw should understand Russia’s right to re-establishing its zone of influence on the territory of the former Soviet Union. As a reward Russia can perhaps re-consider its firm position regarding the American anti-missile shield on the Polish soil. Also, Moscow can appear ready to treat Poland as a normal EU member state, suggests Mr. Lavrov. 

Sergey Lavrov’s goal is to talk with Poles seriously, not to humiliate Poland, writes a columnist of DZIENNIK. Recently, Polish-Russian relations have been cold, to say the least. Warsaw condemned the Russian invasion of Georgia while Moscow harshly criticised Poland’s decision to host the American anti-missile shield. However, each government of Poland will have to deal with Russia somehow. Mr. Lavrov is to have a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the head of diplomacy, Radoslaw Sikorski. The European Union will not allow Russia to build a new iron curtain in Eastern Europe and Poland is expected to confirm the European stance during the meeting. Warsaw, however, is still keen to continue its dialogue with Moscow, writes the columnist.

NATO will not come back to the past and treat Russia as its main enemy, writes a columnist of The Times in the POLSKA daily. NATO cannot provoke Moscow this way and besides, it’s too busy in Afghanistan. The alliance cannot be expected to admit new members such as Ukraine or Georgia, either. The position of Ukraine itself is vague. Also, countries like Germany are not likely to irritate their important trade partner, that is, Russia. The European Union hasn’t promised anything specific to Kyiv during the EU-Ukraine summit. Both the EU and NATO prefer to be careful with the future enlargement. They hadn’t been in the past, as a result of which some unprepared countries were admitted, reminds the columnist.