Poland and Baltics have made ‘big mistake’ with Russia – Kremlin
Poland and the Baltic states have made a “big mistake” in historically demonizing Russia rather than working with it to mutual benefit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
In an interview with Kremlin pool journalist Aleksandr Unashev on Tuesday, he said Russia “really does have problems” with Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
“Everyone who comes to power there begins to hate Russia and Russians with a passion,” Peskov stated. “Is this a mistake? A big mistake. Because these countries could learn a lot from Russian culture and interaction with Russia.”
Relations with Warsaw, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius have plummeted since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Poland shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, while Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania share one with mainland Russia.
Earlier this month, Poland announced that it would withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, and ramp up production of the munitions to prepare the border for a potential conflict with Russia.
The three Baltic nations finalized their exits from the convention in December, citing the supposed threat from Russia.
Moscow has long dismissed claims that it plans to attack any NATO nations as “nonsense.”
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, ever more bellicose statements from top European NATO officials suggest that the West is openly preparing for a direct clash.
