Poland to demand wartime reparations from Russia

Poland will target Russia with claims for reparations for World War Two damages after resolving the same dispute with Germany, Polish state secretary Marcin Przydacz told the Financial Times.

• Subscribe to LIGA.net in English on Twitter

It is easier to reach an agreement on the issue of reparations with Berlin than with Moscow, Mr Przydacz said.

"[W]e treat Berlin and Moscow in a different-civilisation way. With Berlin, we believe we can start a dialogue but with Putin this is the other civilisation," the Polish official was quoted as saying.

"Once there will be a success with Germany, the next step could be to launch such a discussion with the other oppressor."

Poland has been actively discussing the topic of wartime reparations since 2017, with former prime minister Beata Szydlo being one of the key proponents.

Back in 2019, Germany said that it considered all of its obligations to pay reparations to Poland for WWII damages fully fulfilled and would not get back to the issue.

Still, in October, Poland filed a formal claim against Germany for EUR 1.3 trillion in reparations for damages and losses inflicted by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Berlin has flatly rejected this claim, insisting that the issue was settled in the 1950s with Poland’s then communist government. Warsaw now calls this decision illegitimate, arguing that it was made under pressure from the USSR.