In the spotlight: Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin was scheduled to arrive in Kraków one day before the ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. Mutual relations between Poland and Russia were particularly chilly last week, and when President Putin failed to appear, diplomatic sources claimed it was far more than the snow blizzard over Poland that kept the president in Moscow.
The Kremlin still resents Poland's straightforward support for the new Ukrainian president. On the other side, Warsaw is concerned with the recent withholding of some of the eastern oil supply, as well as trade restrictions on Polish dairy and sugar products. Thus, the Russian president was accused of mixing politics with free trade. Yet, after finally landing in Kraków on Thursday, he proved wrong those people who view him as power-drunk and insensitive. His statement that he is ashamed of acts of anti-Semitism in present-day Russia was rewarded with applause.
Such sincere words of humility do not often pass the lips of this ex-KGB agent who operated in Eastern Germany, a role he will deny until the bitter end. But it must be admitted, they came at the right moment, and were backed up by Putin's affirmation that Russian oil will continue to flow to Poland without any restrictions. Polish authorities made sure nothing spoiled the stay by locking up Amnesty International activists protesting against human rights violations in Chechnya. A small price to pay, some believe, for important declarations from one of the most powerful men on earth.
The Kremlin still resents Poland's straightforward support for the new Ukrainian president. On the other side, Warsaw is concerned with the recent withholding of some of the eastern oil supply, as well as trade restrictions on Polish dairy and sugar products. Thus, the Russian president was accused of mixing politics with free trade. Yet, after finally landing in Kraków on Thursday, he proved wrong those people who view him as power-drunk and insensitive. His statement that he is ashamed of acts of anti-Semitism in present-day Russia was rewarded with applause.
Such sincere words of humility do not often pass the lips of this ex-KGB agent who operated in Eastern Germany, a role he will deny until the bitter end. But it must be admitted, they came at the right moment, and were backed up by Putin's affirmation that Russian oil will continue to flow to Poland without any restrictions. Polish authorities made sure nothing spoiled the stay by locking up Amnesty International activists protesting against human rights violations in Chechnya. A small price to pay, some believe, for important declarations from one of the most powerful men on earth.
