Yushchenko: Ukrainian has once and forever offered a hand of friendship and understanding to a Pole

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“Ukrainian has once and forever offered a hand of friendship and understanding to a Pole,” said Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko, while taking part together with the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski in the measures dedicated to the memory of Poles, who perished 65 years ago in Huta Peniatska, Brodv District of Ukraine, where on February, 28, 1944 the German police officers have conducted a punitive operation killing among others several hundreds of Poles, reports a REGNUM  correspondent in Kiev on March, 2.

“In spite of our history, violent events of World War II and many other circumstances, of the past century, I am deeply convinced that Ukrainian has once and forever offered a hand of friendship and understanding to a Pole,” said Ukrainian President. He also underlined, that today Ukrainians and Poles are knit together by common memory and values. “I’m sure, both Ukrainian and Polish people well understand and hold the memory of our past, our history, tragic event under the Stalin, and Nazi regimes. But we are not talking about the past. We have common purpose, common today and common European present”, — said Victor Yushchenko. 

In its turn, Polish President Lech Kaczynski stressed, the presence of both presidents on the scene of tragedy is clear evidence of “next step” towards unification of Ukrainian and Polish people.