Poland: Russian ambassador to Poland clarifies his WWII remarks

Sergei Andreev, Russia's ambassador to Poland, said his recent comments relating to Poland's role in the outbreak of World War II had been misinterpreted, during a statement to the press outside the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Warsaw on Monday. Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna had summoned Andreyev to the ministry to clarify the situation. Andreyev was quoted as saying last week that Poland was responsible for "blocking the creation of an anti-Nazi coalition," making it "co-responsible for World War II." "I explained that it was an unfair interpretation," the Russian ambassador told the press on Monday. "I do not mean that Poland was jointly responsible for the outbreak of World War II; I meant that the policy of the Polish government in the 30s led Poland to the disaster," he added. The Russian ambassador went on to praise Polish "heroism" and Polish efforts in fighting and helping defeat the Nazis alongside the Red Army. He also went on to cite and remind the Polish people of the "600,000 Soviet soldiers and officers who died in the battles to liberate Poland."