Przemysław Żurawski Vel Grajewski: Euromaidan had Great Impact on Internal Situation in Poland

The Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine had a significant impact on the internal situation in Poland. Przemysław Żurawski Vel Grajewski, the Counselor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, stated this during the 11^th Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

“The second Maidan had a great influence on what has happened in Poland, and this is not very well known in this country. The Maidan showed the Poles two things: the first – Russia is not omnipotent, as it seemed after the Smolensk catastrophe. The second – one can effectively oppose the oligarchs. Yes, we also have our own oligarchs,” he noted.

The Counselor also believes that “when Russia invaded Ukraine, the Prime Minister (Donald Tusk) simply resigned and went to Brussels to earn good money”.

Żurawski Vel Grajewski also criticized the EU and NATO policies, in particular, the decision of the Bucharest summit of NATO in 2008, when Ukraine and Georgia were not given the NATO Membership Action Plan.

“The decision taken in Bucharest was the actual invitation for Russia to invade Georgia,” he believes.

According to the Counselor, there are plenty of populists in the EU who, speaking of the need to unite Europe, may do the opposite.

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The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.