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‘Russophobia’ guarantees independence for Central and Eastern Europe: opinion

PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki 28.03.2018 13:00
Wariness of Russia is a safeguard of independence for countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a Polish journalist has said, referring to a planned gas link from Russia to Germany.
Robzor/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative CommonsRobzor/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons

Piotr Lisiewicz, a current-affairs commentator for two conservative media outlets in Poland, said that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe can expect to enjoy as much independence as they can muster “Russophobia” amid staying constantly wary of Russia’s intentions.

Lisiewicz, who is a commentator for the Gazeta Polska weekly and broadcaster Telewizja Republika, said on Tuesday that “Russophobia” was in fact “a desire and will to resist Russia’s domination.”

He was speaking after German authorities earlier in the day gave the go-ahead to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia under the Baltic Sea, a controversial project opposed by Poland and other countries.

In a comment for public broadcaster TVP Info, Lisiewicz said that Russia’s ambitions to seek dominance over other nations were "not something imagined” by Central and Eastern European countries, but "part of the Russian military doctrine."

He also argued that Poland is forced to buy “exceptionally expensive gas” from Russia because of “an absolutely scandalous deal” signed with that country in the past that he said discredited Poland’s previous government led by the Civic Platform (PO) party.

“The fact that for a quarter of a century [after overcoming communism in 1989] Poland was in fact unable to become independent of Russian gas and ensure diversification of supplies, reflects the strength of the Russian agent network in Poland” under its previous authorities, Lisiewicz said.

The new conservative government in Warsaw last year said that Poland aimed to stop importing natural gas from Russia after 2022.

The country wants to become completely independent of Russian gas supplies not to be vulnerable to potential “political action” by Moscow, Poland’s foreign minister at the time, Witold Waszczykowski, told reporters in September.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said earlier this month that the Nord Stream 2 project "undermines Europe’s energy security" by leading to the "monopolisation of gas supplies."

The contested pipeline would carry gas from Russia to Germany while bypassing Poland and other countries in its region.

The project “should be stopped in its tracks," Morawiecki wrote on Twitter last week.

(gs/pk)

Source: niezalezna.pl

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