Lech Kaczynski: How The West Got Georgia Wrong

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The Polish government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk wasn ' t as enthusiastic about the U.S. missile shield as you were.
I won. [Smiles]

Was this because of conflict in Georgia?
Yes, that's it. I'm a proponent of this [missile shield] not because I believe Iran will launch a nuclear attack or that this is a tool in the struggle with Russia, but because this deepens the interest of the United States in this area. It's in the interests of my country to have the closest possible relations with the United States.

If you ' re not afraid of an attack from Iran or Russia, what is the shield defending against?
Theoretically, against world terrorism. But I know how it defends Poland: by ensuring that Americans do not become indifferent to any attempts to include Poland in Russia's sphere of influence.

In that sense, the Russians are right: the shield is aimed against them?
If you insist that my country should become part of the outer ring of the Russian empire, my fundamental duty is to prevent this. But obviously this isn't militarily aimed against Russia in any way.

Can NATO and Russia become friends?
We're not yet returning to the cold war, and it's up to Russia if we will or not. Georgia was hugely significant, and Europe didn't come to the right conclusions about what the lessons are. If NATO had offered the MAP [Membership Action Plan] to Ukraine and Georgia in Bucharest, I doubt we would have had this crisis. NATO has its serious drawbacks, but it's an exporter of stabilization.

© 2008

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: Glenno @ 10/14/2008 7:57:22 PM

    Funny how only leaders from Poland and the Baltics are interviewed in the US media, maybe because their ant-russian sentiments due to historical reasons can be exploited by America to build a front against Russia?
    In the Baltic states the population consists of 20-40% ethic russians, many are not even granted residency or allowed to vote, even though they are born there. But as long as it is in US interest it is democratic.

  • Posted By: St. Petersburger @ 10/08/2008 9:59:53 AM

    Lech - you're dreaming. You need to learn how to live with your big neighbor next door and respect it. If Russia wanted to overthrow Misha, believe me, no arm-waving by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia would have prevented it.

  • Posted By: Psha Krev @ 10/02/2008 1:08:36 AM

    Obviously, Mr. Kaczynski is out of tough with reality when he says about "the lessons learned". First, the Russians did not need this war in order to establish control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia because they ALREADY had their forces on the ground. Georgia lost control of these territories 18 years ago. Secondly how exactly was the "attempt to topple (Georgian) government carried out"? Thirdly, how is "Ukraine being threatened"? These statements are about as valid as his Nazi analogy. I'd think that growing up in Poland one would learn a thing or two about the Nazi attrocities. How are they similar to today's Russia? At least he admits that the missile defense shield is, indeed, targeted at Russia. Finally!

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