THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
official site

Dear colleagues,

Dear members of the media,

First of all I would like to once again express my sincere thanks to my counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski for the invitation to visit Warsaw and speak at the annual meeting of Polish ambassadors and permanent representatives.

Speaking at the meeting, I set out Russia’s approaches to developing relations between our countries. These relations are on the rise, and I think that the reason is not only the tragedy near Smolensk, which has truly united our peoples, but also the deep desire of the citizens of Russia and Poland to normalize relations and to live as good neighbors, like human beings.

Almost immediately after the Government of Donald Tusk came to power in Poland and Sikorski became Minister of Foreign Affairs, at our very first meeting we agreed to revitalize all the mechanisms of bilateral cooperation. This agreement is being implemented, and very effectively at that. The Strategy Committee for Russian-Polish Relations, headed by the Foreign Ministers, has resumed its work. Today, we have agreed to hold its next meeting in October in Warsaw. The Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation is actively working. The result of this work is that in the first six months of this year, our trade came close to 10 billion dollars, an increase of 50 percent on the same period a year ago. For the situation after the global financial crisis, this is a very good result.

We can have only the kindest works for the active work of the bilateral Group for Difficult Issues of Common History, which is headed by Adam Rotfeld and Anatoly Torkunov. Today we have reiterated our high appreciation of their efforts. The public forum is operating very intensively and will soon be enriched by a youth segment. We fully support this trend.

We certainly welcome the initiative of the chairmen of the upper chambers of our parliaments for establishing the Interregional Forum, which has brought together the regions of the Russian Federation and the vojvodships of the Republic of Poland. The forum held its second meeting in May this year. The new challenges of maximizing the efficient use of all these mechanisms and structures were set during the two meetings between Presidents Medvedev and Komorowski in April and May this year, as well as in the course of the meetings between Prime Ministers Putin and Tusk.

On both sides we feel the desire to fully normalize our relations, to tap the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation that exists in them. President Komorowski invited President Medvedev to pay a visit to Poland. This invitation was accepted, and now the specific date for this visit is being arranged.

We have a number of draft agreements in the most diverse areas of our cooperation which we are preparing for signature. We are paying special attention to the adoption of measures that would make communication between the citizens of our countries more comfortable and convenient. We have finished work on a draft agreement which will greatly facilitate travel between the residents of Kaliningrad Region and the border vojvodships of Poland. Today we have agreed on specific steps that should facilitate the early signing of this important document for our citizens. In broader terms, we appreciate the support that Poland renders to our proposal for concluding an agreement between Russia and the European Union on visa-free travel for our citizens.

Today we discussed the prospects for Russia's relations with the European Union in light of the fact that next year Poland will head up this institution for the first time. We also appreciate the constructive approach of the Polish authorities to the development of cooperation within the Russia-NATO Council, which would make it possible to overcome the dividing lines inherited from the Cold War.

Overall, I am very satisfied both with the results of my participation in the Polish ambassadors’ meeting and with the bilateral talks with my counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski. I am confident that today we did a very good job in keeping with the guidelines which the two countries’ leaders have agreed on and which are designed to overcome all existing problems, and they still remain, we do not hide it, in our relations, and to bring them to a new level truly good-neighborly, equal and mutually beneficial.

Question: Will extending the visa-free regime to the entire territory of Kaliningrad Region facilitate a speedier abolition of visas between Russia and the EU?

Lavrov (replies after Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski): We appreciate Poland’s consistent stand in favor of the transition to a visa-free regime in relations between Russia and the European Union. The agreement on small-scale visa-free cross-border traffic between Kaliningrad Region and the neighboring vojvodships of Poland will be a very important step in this direction. But in principle in our relations with Brussels we need to move faster. At the Russia-EU summit in Rostov on 31 May-1 June this year, President Medvedev stressed that given the scope of our partnership with the EU further delay in the transition to a visa-free regime would create practical problems in communication. In Rostov we handed over to the EU leadership a draft Russia-EU agreement on visa-free travel for our citizens. We expect a quick and constructive response. Our Polish colleagues have today confirmed that they will support this agreement. We also transmitted to our EU colleagues a list of about a dozen countries with which the EU already has a visa-free regime in place. I am sure that those who will have a look at this list will realize that there are no reasons left to keep the visa regime between Russia and the European Union.

Question: Tell us more about your morning meeting with the Polish ambassadors. What Russian foreign policy priorities did you consider? Was there a discussion on the future of gas cooperation and on the results of the investigation in Smolensk? What conclusions emerge from these meetings?

Lavrov: Indeed, I outlined the priorities of Russian foreign policy at this stage. First and foremost, it is making maximum use of external sources to tackle the tasks of modernizing the country in the broadest sense of the word. We have embarked on a policy of modernization proceeding solely from the goals of our internal development, but we are open to the widest possible engagement with all partners who are interested in, and see the benefits of such an interaction.

My colleague has noted that the tasks of modernization face Poland too. Today in our discussions and at the ambassadors’ meeting we have seen that there are very specific issues in the solution of which we can be helpful to each other. Naturally, the solution of such constructive tasks requires a stable international environment. We, like Poland, are interested in ensuring that there are as few conflicts as possible around our countries in Europe and the world at large and that any problems that persist in the regions close to Europe and not only there are solved through peaceful political means on the basis of agreements with all the parties concerned. You can learn more information about the priorities of our foreign policy from my yesterday's speech on the occasion of the beginning of the academic year at MGIMO, which is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

We also exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation between Russia and Poland in the gas sector, and noted the considerable interest of both countries in ensuring that such cooperation develops based on the draft documents that were agreed upon. We understand that there are some technical points which are now being addressed in the course of contacts between Warsaw, Brussels and Moscow.

The “Katyn problem” is under the personal supervision of the President of the Russian Federation. We perfectly understand all the emotional and political urgency of this problem for our Polish colleagues, and as directed by the President a number of additional steps are being taken to further declassify the relevant materials. We expect that in addition to the very useful contribution from the Group for Difficult Issues, the creation in Poland and Russia of the Memorial Centers, as agreed upon by the prime ministers of both countries, will facilitate solving this problem and, in general, improving Russian-Polish relations with regard to the historical theme. With all the nuances and differences Russia and Poland’s main objectives in this question coincide, both sides want the truth.

As to the investigation of the crash near Smolensk, for us it is a priority issue. The Interstate Aviation Committee, which deals with this matter on the Russian side, acts in accordance with the Chicago Convention of the ICAO, and even by the standards of this organization the work is being conducted at a very fast pace. Ahead of the established ICAO procedures many exhibits, including the black boxes, were handed over along with many volumes of documents. Another very large set of documents is now being prepared for transfer to the Polish side. In addition, on the basis of the bilateral agreement on legal assistance between the Prosecutor General’s Offices of Russia and Poland, contacts are established to conduct their own investigations as well. Without going into details, I’ll note only that the materials that are already available to the Polish side will help shed light on virtually all the main facts of the tragedy.

I consider today’s meeting extremely useful and I think that the Polish ambassadors are keen to know how Russia's position has evolved with regard to the issues of concern to Poland. Today we were all frank and candid and discussed the most diverse topics in a friendly manner. I stand for continuation of such a dialogue in a variety of formats.

Question: Before yesterday's start of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, Prime Minister Netanyahu had said that Israel did not intend to extend the moratorium on a plan to build settlements on Palestinian territory. US President Obama, speaking yesterday, called on the Palestinians not only to seek peace but also to recognize the Jewish state. How do you think all this will affect the future course of the direct talks?

Lavrov: I can only confirm the position which was agreed by the Quartet of international mediators and the UN Security Council and clearly outlines all the international legal principles on whose basis the parties must negotiate. Setting forth any preconditions other than the international legal framework that exists, is hardly helpful. All of this suggests that the direct talks, which begin today, will not be entirely easy.

We support these negotiations, despite the fact that their start has caused mixed reactions among Palestinian circles and in the Arab world, but these negotiations at least offer a chance, even if far from one hundred percent, which we simply have no right not to avail ourselves of. Often, before the start of negotiations, the parties in public remarks overstate their stances but as a result of direct contacts begin developing mutual trust and eventually reach an agreement. We will do our best to ensure that the development of events follows just this path.

Question: You talked about a warming in Russian-Polish relations and about the desire to further improve them. Does this imply that a common investigation of the Smolensk tragedy is possible? When will all the documents be handed over to the Polish side? How would you assess the current state of relations between Russia and Poland?

Lavrov: I can assess very positively the state of our relations today. On both sides there is a sincere desire, not only at the level of top political leaders and members of government, but also at the level of people, ordinary citizens, to stop turning the problems that exist into insurmountable obstacles for normal communication and to live as good neighbors, like human beings. It is the task of our politicians, the foreign ministers and other ministers of the Polish and Russian governments to translate these absolutely legitimate and understandable aspirations of our peoples into practical solutions, today we tried to do just that.

Regarding the tragedy near Smolensk, I reiterate that the cooperation between Polish and Russian experts is unprecedented, including the rules that exist in the ICAO under the Chicago Convention, and the practice that usually operates in bilateral relations as part of the agreements on mutual legal assistance. Anything you can do under these arrangements, under the Chicago Convention and bilateral agreements, and even beyond, has been done and will continue to be done. The Polish experts have participated in all investigative actions from the outset, contacts are continuing constantly, and today we talked about what more needs to be done to complete this procedure as soon as possible. But to artificially accelerate this process also does not work, because there are certain rules. The conclusions to be drawn are of immense significance, and here neither Russian nor Polish specialists have any right to err.