Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin does not see any reason for Poland’s statements about a change in Moscow’s attitude towards the executions of Poles in Katyn in 1940. He spoke on this topic in an interview with reporters on Wednesday, November 25.
“There were no re-assessments, there is no reason for discussion, in this case, I do not know that there were any re-assessments,” said Peskov, commenting on the relevant statement of the Polish side.
Peskov clarified that the Katyn theme is quite complex and multifaceted.
“I want to bring you back to the joint event. The last joint event, which took place either a year or two before the terrible tragedy in Katyn (the plane crash with the Polish leadership in 2010 – Ed.). All the assessments sounded there. Historians gathered there and the President of Russia was present. We need to focus on this and on all these assessments, ”the press secretary emphasized.
The day before, the Polish Embassy in Russia published a statement on its website about Moscow’s alleged distortions of facts concerning the events in Katyn. Warsaw claimed that during a conference on Polish-Russian relations held in the Tver region in November 2020, statements were allegedly made aimed at distorting historical facts.
In 1940, in Katyn, Smolensk region, about 22 thousand military and officials taken out of Poland were shot.
In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided to issue a public verdict in the case of the shooting of Polish officers in Katyn. In the event of a positive decision for Poland, the Russian side would be forced to resume investigations into this crime.