Distortion of history by Warsaw; Exposing the differences between Iran and Russia – Mehr news agency RCO News Agency

Mehr News Agency, International Group: In response to the letter of the Polish Chargé d’affaires, the Russian ambassador to Iran sent a note to Tehran Times and considered it to contain “historical distortions” and an attempt to create a gap between Tehran and Moscow. This response is the latest part of the series of diplomatic exchanges between the two countries after the controversial statements of the Polish Foreign Minister in London.

Last month, the Polish Foreign Minister attended a meeting organized by a Zionist group based in America and in the British Parliament. Standing next to a drone provided by the group, he claimed it was Iranian and had been sent to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, accusing Iran of undermining European security.

After that, the Chargé d’affaires of Poland in Tehran, Marcin Wilczek, sent a letter to Tehran Times. His letter referred to an earlier interview published by the newspaper; An interview in which a well-known professor living in Russia argued that Poland had forgotten history following the foreign minister’s controversial statements; Especially during the period in the Second World War when Iran became a refuge for a large number of Polish people who were fleeing the tragedies of the war in Europe. Wilczek argued that Warsaw’s action in the British Parliament was not against Iran, but against Russia; The country he claimed “interferes” in the relations between Iran and Poland.

Now the Russian ambassador in Tehran, Alexey Didov, has presented his correspondence. He addresses what he calls “fundamental omissions” in Wilchek’s text and expresses the official position of the Russian Federation on European security issues, historical narrative, and bilateral relations.

Below is the full text of the Russian diplomat’s statement:

The Soviet people suffered more than any other nation in the world during World War II. Our ancestors sacrificed 27 million lives to free the world from Hitler’s terrible ideology, which considered Russians and Poles as inferior human beings.

We have never denied the human tragedies of the past; We mourn and hold in our hearts the memory and respect of all those who fell victim to the catastrophe unleashed by Hitler, his allies and accomplices.

However, historical events cannot be viewed one-sidedly; History is accurate only when it is viewed as a whole and based on the full complexity of facts and circumstances.

Relations with Poland have always been complicated. At the beginning of the 17th century, the King of Poland attacked Russia, which had been weakened during the “Chaos”. In addition to occupying the western regions, Polish-Lithuanian forces occupied Moscow for two years. It was only on November 4, 1612 that the foreign invaders were pushed out of the capital by the popular volunteer forces.

In 1919, the Polish authorities once again took advantage of the internal difficulties of our country, which was caught in a civil war at that time, and occupied its western parts; Areas where a long-term policy aimed at erasing national identity and imposing forced Polishization was implemented. As a result of military operations supported by European allies, Poland gained the western regions of Belarus and Ukraine.

During the Soviet-Polish war, at least 157,000 Red Army soldiers were captured. More than 80,000 people never returned from the numerous camps in Poland where inhumane conditions prevailed. Prisoners were executed, tortured and starved and denied treatment for widespread infectious diseases, which would have doomed them to certain death. In October 1919, a commission from the International Committee of the Red Cross visiting the Brest-Litovsk camp declared: “The camp was practically a city of the dead.” Polish ruling circles deliberately downplay the number of victims to hide this bloody page of bilateral history.

On the eve of World War II, Great Britain and France showed Germany that they would not hinder its expansion towards the East. Their intention was clear: to push the Nazi regime in Berlin into a military confrontation with the Soviet Union, while they themselves stayed away.

When Germany occupied the Sudetenland in October 1938, Poland became its accomplice and, in coordination with Hitler, annexed a part of the Czechoslovak territory (the Tszyn region in Silesia); An action for which he received the nickname “Hyena of Europe”. During the 1930s, high officials of Nazi Germany frequently visited Poland; Including Goebbels’ Minister of Propaganda and Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring (the second most powerful person in the Nazi Party), who was later convicted as a war criminal by the Nuremberg Trials. Polish Foreign Minister Beck met Hitler many times. The official representatives of the two countries had confidential and regular talks and discussed expanding their foreign influence in a “partnership” atmosphere. Among the issues raised was “weakening and destruction of Russia”. Poland made many mistakes in the years leading up to World War II and eventually became a victim of Nazi aggression.

The Soviet Union, on the contrary, used all its efforts to create a complete collective security system in Europe; A system that could prevent a military conflict and its disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, the Western powers were not interested in this issue and the Soviet Union had to normalize its relations with Germany in order to gain time and strategic depth before the inevitable confrontation with the Third Reich.

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and within two weeks crushed it and occupied a large part of its territory. On September 17, the Red Army crossed the eastern border of Poland and liberated western Ukraine and western Belarus within ten days. Timely Soviet action—though only temporarily—saved the population of eastern Poland at the time, including Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Russians, from genocide. Many Polish citizens and asylum seekers were able to immigrate immediately. It is important to note that even London and Paris, as allies of Warsaw, did not consider the Soviet actions as “aggression”.

According to the Soviet-Polish agreements, a new army of Poles under the command of General Anders was formed in Soviet territory in 1941. Even during the most difficult period of 1941-1942, the Soviet Union continued to provide large quantities of weapons and equipment to Anders’ Army. The Soviet authorities did not prevent the subsequent transfer of this army to Iran as requested by General Anders himself. As for the difficult conditions faced by Poles in Soviet territory during World War II, this was a harsh reality that all Soviet citizens faced due to the brutality of Nazi Germany and its accomplices.

During the occupation of Poland by the Third Reich, about 6 million people lost their lives. Many forced labor and death camps were established in Poland. The Nazis killed more than 2 million Jews and 50,000 Roma. People were killed in gas chambers, shot and their bodies burned in furnaces. Auschwitz became the dark symbol of this genocide. In July 1944, the Red Army began to liberate Poland, sacrificing about 600,000 soldiers and officers in the process. One of the symbols of Poland’s salvation was the legendary operation that was carried out in January 1945 by Soviet intelligence forces and Red Army units to prevent the explosion of explosives that were used according to the German plan to completely destroy the city of Krakow. As a result, the historical face of Krakow was preserved. Should we still believe that Russia is Poland’s “debtor” and owes it something?

Unfortunately, today Poland, like other western countries, has taken a very hostile policy against Russia and also against Iran. They are adding to a series of illegal sanctions against our countries, arming Ukraine, devoting massive funds to continued military operations, and undermining the peaceful initiatives we are offering to address the root causes of the conflict. For example, foreign mercenaries are currently conducting intensive military exercises in the border regions of Poland with Ukraine, to be deployed later in the central regions of Ukraine.