Russian PM Putin's move is widely seen as a sign of improving relations between Warsaw and Moscow Courtesy of Consilium EU

In a surprise move, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week invited his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyń massacre.

“PM Putin said, ‘I believe that our joint appearance at this ceremony will have a very big symbolic meaning,’” Tusk’s official spokesman told Reuters.

PM Tusk’s Chancellery later confirmed that he would attend. Polish President Lech Kaczyński also announced last week that he would be present at the commemoration. “I hope I’ll be granted a visa,” he joked.

This will be the first time Russia commemorates Katyń, a massacre involving an estimated 20,000 Polish prisoners. The murders were perpetrated in April 1940, in the Katyń Forest and in other locations in Russia.

The Stalin era in general, and the Katyń tragedy in particular, have been trouble spots in Polish-Russian relations for years. Russia attributed the murders to Nazi Germany for decades. In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev admitted that the former secret police, the NKVD, had performed the executions.

The massacre has never been forgiven or forgotten in Poland. Still, PM Putin’s move is seen as a breakthrough which could improve bilateral relations.

Łukasz Adamski, from the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told WBJ, “It is an important step that will improve the climate between Poland and Russia. The joint celebration will have big repercussions among the Polish public, who have observed the process of the rehabilitation of Stalin in Russia over the last few years.”

Asked about the motivation behind the invitation, Mr Adamski answered, “I think Russia is interested in good press abroad, and [Putin] knows that the absence of Russian authorities for the 70th anniversary would be noticed by foreign media. But he also made a step forward – from a Russian perspective – in condemning the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact last fall.”

Alice Trudelle