Interview: Europe needs solidarity

Europe should not fear Russia like it did before the fall of the Berlin Wall, despite Moscow’s temptation to revert to posturing from the past, the historic leader of the Polish anti-communist movement ‘Solidarno??’ and former Polish President Lech Wa??sa told EURACTIV Poland in an interview.

Wa??sa appeals for a “coherent” and “harmonious” European Union capable of speaking with a strong voice and making itself heard by Moscow. In this sense, he believes the EU needs more solidarity, even saying that the EU should take inspiration from the ‘Solidarno??’ movement of the early 1980s by getting stronger as a means of gaining respect. 

“Europe can be a partner in a relationship with Russia if it is coherent. And if it is too weak, it should learn the lessons of Polish ‘Solidarity’ and become bigger, gather more support. Together with the Americans, we can talk with Russia as equals,” Wa??sa said. 

He says Russia has changed since Cold War times, mainly due to the fact that it is now a capitalist society interested first of all in selling resources to the West. But the Georgia crisis revealed Moscow’s inclination to return to the patterns of the past, the politician argues. 

“In the twenty-first century, we live in times of IT products, computers and cars. We become consumers and nobody wants to get rid of consumers, not even Russia, because they will not buy its exports,” says the historic leader of the Polish anti-communist movement. 

Poland’s former president says that “today’s diplomats cannot find the right language with Russia”. If he himself were still the president, he would tell Vladimir Putin: “My dear, we will go in front of the cameras of the entire world and we will say that you are a bandit, because you want to fire at people.” 

Wa??sa is highly critical of Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili. After calling Saakashvili an “irresponsible politician”, he criticises him for making the mistake of provoking Russia and creating an extremely difficult situation for the whole world. 

At the same time, Wa??sa says he “understands” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who according to him is aware of the weakness of the West and therefore tries to get maximum benefit from relations with Russia. Wa??sa believes Lukashenko might eventually turn to the West if the EU had something to offer. 

To read the full text of the interview in English, please click here. 

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