Ewa Malcher
Local cross-border traffic between Poland and Russia's Kaliningrad enclave is not threatened, PM Donald Tusk said in the northern town of Bartoszyce located close to the Polish-Russian border.
"We can clearly separate the relations between ordinary people who want to visit towns on both sides of the border from what is the background and the source of the serious crisis," PM Tusk said as he referred to the international tension in the aftermath of Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The Polish PM said he expected "proper treatment of Russian buyers" from Polish border and law enforcement services, with whom he had met earlier at a border crossing in Bezledy.
Tusk said he personally reviewed every case of alleged improper treatment of Russians in the area covered by the local cross-border traffic agreement, as disseminated by "Russian propaganda."
"We corrected (such reports) immediately," Tusk said, adding that he had been assured by servicemen in Bezledy that Russians were being treated in the same way as before the Ukrainian and Crimean crisis broke out.
"Polish diplomacy is seeking ways that will prevent further conflicts and reduce tension," Tusk declared. These diplomatic efforts are aimed to "prevent further tragedies and avert war," the PM said as he underscored the presence of a strong Ukrainian minority in the Bartoszyce region.
"But when it is necessary, we need to be firm," the prime minister stressed. "I believe that the international community and the whole Europe cannot pretend that nothing has happened."
PM Tusk noted that the Ukrainian crisis had underscored the need for stronger energy solidarity within the European Union and said this issue "is entering its practical stage."
Referring to the ban on Polish and Lithuanian pork that Russia imposed after cases of the African Swine Fever (ASF) were detected in wild boar in the two countries in early 2014, Tusk expressed hope that the European Commission would protect equal treatment of EU member states in the face of the embargo. (PAP)
