Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on Thursday a Russian invitation to attend a memorial service to mark the massacre of thousands of Polish POWs by Soviet forces in WWII an important step in improving bilateral ties.
"I accepted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's invitation with satisfaction as I see that he has made a really important step," Tusk said speaking in parliament. The memorial service will be held in April.
Tusk said the invitation "is important as a remembrance for the victims and also for promoting friendly Polish-Russian relations."
Over 20,000 Poles, mainly officers, taken prisoner during the 1939 partitioning of Poland by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were killed in the Katyn forest, as well as in prisons and other locations, by the NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB.
The Soviet Union acknowledged the massacre in 1990. Modern Russia also recognized Soviet responsibility for the mass shooting, but has not classified it as a war crime or genocide, something Warsaw has demanded.
The two Slavic nations have also been at odds over Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's 1939 deal with Nazi Germany, which Warsaw says triggered the invasion of Poland and the start of WWII.
Putin moved to heal the rift over the massacre and the 1939 deal when he visited Poland in September to mark the 70th anniversary of the invasion. He called the killings "a crime," but urged "forgiveness." He said all European countries bear their share of responsibility for the outbreak of the war.
WARSAW, February 4 (RIA Novosti)
