WARSAW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) – Poland has clearly overestimated its role in the development of events in Ukraine, and now looks “grotesque” in the eyes of the world former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"It’s a pity that recent negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis took place in Berlin, not Warsaw. Warsaw would be the ideal place for the dialogue, because Poland is the only EU member state that borders Russia and Ukraine. But in order to hold this kind of meeting in Warsaw, we should really be peacemakers and not party to the conflict,” Miller said.
"Unfortunately, persistent efforts by Poland’s right-wing parties in [Euro]maidan in Kiev led to Poland being ignored and pushed aside on an issue that is vitally important to it," Miller said.
The leader of Poland’s social-democratic political party said that Warsaw "naively believed it was a major player in this game, and obviously overestimated its own role in Ukraine, and now Warsaw looks grotesque in the eyes of the international community."
Miller said that "it was the last call for Poland and the current Polish government to seriously think about our policy."
“This is further evidence that the statements made by Polish officials, who are commenting on the dramatic conflict in the east of Ukraine, should be more modest and calm," Miller noted.
"I will say this: Warsaw should have fewer hawks, and more wise owls and starlings. We need to tone down anti-Russian rhetoric against Polish MEP [Minister of European Parliament] Jacek Saryusz-Wolski coming from the ruling Civic Platform party and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and we need more balance and understanding of the situation from Stanislaw Ciosek, Poland’s former ambassador to the USSR and Russia from 1989-1996," the former prime minister said.
Miller is a famous Polish politician, currently chairing the Democratic Left Alliance, and a member of Poland’s parliament in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th convocations. Miller was prime minister of Poland from 2001-2004. Hailing from a poor working-class background, the former prime minister did his military service in the navy on the ORP Bielik submarine. Miller was an activist in the Polish Socialist Youth Union and joined the Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP) in 1969.
On May 1, 2004, Miller’s government led Poland into the European Union. Polish weekly Wprost named Miller ‘Poland Man of the Year’ in 2001 and 2002.
