17:36 26.01.2017

Ukrainian-Polish relations to depend on lifting of Przemysl mayor's entry ban

2 min read
Ukrainian-Polish relations to depend on lifting of Przemysl mayor's entry ban

Relationship of Warsaw and Kyiv depend on lifting a ban to enter Ukraine for the mayor of the Polish city of Przemysl, Robert Choma, Deputy Head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Jan Dziedziczak has said.

"Without clarifying this situation, without the cancellation of this decision, it is difficult to imagine further cooperation," the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita quoted Dziedziczak as saying on Wednesday.

According to him, the Polish Foreign Ministry was surprised by this decision of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). "This incident should not have happened at all," the deputy minister said.

Dziedziczak also stressed that unless the entry ban for Choma is canceled, representatives of the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry will refuse to take part in the tenth Poland-Ukraine forum, which will begin in the Polish city of Rzeszow on January 27. "It will be just the beginning of our response, which will be far-reaching, I can assure you," the diplomat added.

The Polish news resource Zycie Podkarpackie reported that Przemysl Mayor Robert Choma was banned entry to Ukraine. According to it, the Przemysl mayor was unable to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border on January 17, when he went to Ukraine at the invitation of the Ukrainian side.

Later on January 17 the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said it banned Choma from entering the territory of Ukraine.

According to the SBU press secretary, Olena Hitlianska, such a ban was issued in the summer of 2016 in order "to ensure the security of our state."

According to media reports, in June 2016 there was an attack on a peaceful Ukrainian march and the celebration of the Ukrainian holiday of Ivana Kupala in Przemysl was canceled. Mayor Choma called the attack on the procession "unacceptable", but demanded that local Ukrainians should take a clear stand "in the cases of glorification of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the events of our common history, such as the Volyn tragedy, because this is the topic, which cannot be avoided."

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