Minister Czaputowicz: The return of the Tu-154M wreck is Russia's legal and moral obligation

The head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jacek Czaputowicz, said in an interview for the Russian agency TASS that the main topic of his recent talks with the Russian minister Sergei Lavrov was the issue of the wreck of the Polish Tu-154M aircraft remaining on Russian territory.

The meeting with Lavrov, which took place in Helsinki in May, the Polish minister described as important in the conversation with TASS. He recalled that it was held after a five-year break.

We have shown that both parties are open to conversation and discussion regarding issues between them

— he said.

In an extensive interview, published on Wednesday, Czaputowicz explained that the fact that the wreck Tu-154M remains on the territory of Russia is relevant from the Polish perspective. He pointed out that nine years after the catastrophe, the Polish side could not understand why the Polish property and symbol, so important for all Poles, is still under provisional protection next to the place of the catastrophe. He reminded that the elite of Polish politics died on the plane that flew to Smolensk in 2010.

I believe that the return of the wreck is not only a legal obligation, but also a moral obligation for Russia

— said the minister.

As he admitted, during talks in Helsinki he heard that Russia has no plans to return the wreck.

Czaputowicz argued that Poland could take action to ensure that the Russian side would have access to the remains of the plane if necessary. The Council of Europe, for example, could guarantee equal access for all interested parties - prosecutors and experts.

He stressed that Poland would like a decision on the Tu-154M wreck to be taken before 2020, the 10th anniversary of the disaster, as part of a commemorative ceremony.

We are ready to engage in dialogue with our Russian partners

— said the Minister. He assessed that there was no convergence of positions in Helsinki.

Let us recall: on 10 April 2010, on the territory of Russia, an unexplained catastrophe of a Polish government aircraft with an official delegation on board took place. 96 people died, including President Lech Kaczyński. All passengers intended to commemorate the Soviet crime in Katyń - the murder of several dozen thousand Polish officers in 1941.

Tłum. K.J.