According to excerpts of an interview to be broadcast on Saturday on German public radio, Polish President Bronis law Komorowski said that Vladimir Putin is trying to build a new Russian empire for Moscow and that the region now had to choose whether it wanted “a Cossack Europe or a democratic one”.
- “Russia has carried out an invasion in Ukraine”
- Komorowski said Putin was quite open about his ambitions to “rebuild the empire”
- “I hope Germans are sufficiently mindful of what a Soviet empire meant for Europe” … warning against any reprise of the pre-World War Two “appeasement policy of yielding to Hitler”
- “First the challenge was Crimea, now it is about further regions of Ukraine and everyone is asking where it will end”
More weekend news re Ukraine:
EU may urgently prepare more options for Russia sanctions
Ukrainian Antonov-12 plane crashed on Saturday – 6 Ukrainians and one Russian on board
Finnish PM says Russia is trying to irritate Finland by its repeated violations of Finnish airspace
EU President Barroso says ready to impose strong Russia sanctions
French President Hollande says EU will step up sanctions if no change by Russia
and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy – EU set to tighten Russia sanctions ‘within a week’