Putin on the Ritz-ski

[don]

September 2, 2009

In a Visit, Putin Tries to Ease Rifts With Poland

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, praised Polish soldiers and citizens on Tuesday for their wartime bravery, even as the Russian government unveiled what it said were previously classified documents showing prewar Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany.

Mr. Putin’s remarks appeared aimed at dampening a row between Russia and Poland over each country’s role in the war, a dispute that grew heated in the weeks before the anniversary.

“Russia has always respected the bravery and heroism (German-Russo Non-Aggression Pact) of the Polish people, soldiers and officers (Katyn Forest) , who stood up first against Nazism (simultaneous Soviet Invasion of Poland) in 1939,” Mr. Putin said in a meeting with the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, in the Baltic Sea resort town of Sopot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/wo...tml?ref=europe

[D-Mack]

Re: Putin on the Ritz-ski

the good old NY Times

Putin blames WWII on West's deal with Hitler


WARSAW, Poland – Russia's prime minister on Monday condemned Moscow's 1939 treaty with Berlin that carved up Europe, as well as a British and French pact with the Nazis, in remarks published before the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II.
...

But Putin argued Moscow had no choice, blaming Western leaders for failing to oppose Hitler's appetite for territorial expansion.

"Without a doubt there are full grounds to condemn the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of August 1939. But after all, a year earlier France and England signed a well-known agreement with Hitler in Munich, destroying all hope for the creation of a joint front for the fight against fascism," Putin wrote.

Putin said the Munich treaty encouraged Hitler by showing he would face no opposition. Poland, however, argues it was the Molotov-Ribbentrop deal that sparked the war that engulfed the globe, taking more than 40 million lives, including six million Polish citizens.

Putin insisted the legacy of the war served as an example of the importance of including Moscow in all European security architecture.

"All the experience of the period between the wars ... convincingly shows that it is impossible to create an effective collective security system without the participation of all countries of the continent, including Russia," he said.

...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/...nd_russia_wwii