I don't like to discuss who invited who and when. We were all used to, even in Poland, to certain rules and standards. I won't be attending the commerations of the WWII outbreak anniversary in Poland - said Donald Tusk on Friday. The former Prime Minister of Poland and sitting President of the European Council was the guest of "Fakty po Faktach" in TVN24.
The host of the programme, Grzegorz Kajdanowicz, asked Donald Tusk about his presence at the observances of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.
"First of all, I don’t like to discuss who invited who and when, or not, because it’s only a proof of poor standards or poor political culture. We were all used to, even in Poland, despite disputes - it’s not that all people love each other in politics, to certain rules and standards. If you want meet with someone, if you want that person to attend a given ceremony, you should treat them seriously," Tusk said.
Tusk recalled times when he was Poland's Prime Minister: Ten years ago, as the Prime Minister of Poland, I organised the 70th anniversary of the WWII outbreak. It was at the Westeplatte, many world leaders attended, all gave speeches. The first one to speak on that day was the then President Lech Kaczyński. I had absolutely no problem with that".
"Our relations weren’t easy. The political dispute was very tense back then, but it didn’t even cross my mind to break the rules and to treat anyone in the way unworthy of diplomatic relations, or even simple human relations.," he added.
Tusk was asked about the invitation to the WWII outbreak anniversary in Warsaw, sent by President Andrzej Duda.
"This invitation landed on my desk yesterday. The problem is that I also represent the European Union. In Europe, we are all trying to uphold certain standards. The invitation for the 14th of July commemorations in France are being sent out to me and to many of my colleagues, prime ministers and presidents, three months prior. The president of Israel has sent invitations to a ceremony in Israel a year prior. So, those are certain standards, but I would rather close this topic as it’s harmful to Poland’s reputation. Despite that President Duda and the Polish government are not too fond of me, it would be better if people in Europe or around the world would speak about Poland without this unpleasant context, without this slight odour," said the President of the European Council.
Asked if he would be go to Poland to take part in the World War II outbreak anniversary, Tusk replied: "No, I won’t be attending, as it’s clear to me that the organisers of this very important ceremony act in such a way to show that they don’t want to see me there. And I never impose myself on others, especially when I know that I’m not wanted".
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Fakty po Faktach