Poland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has decided to end the validity of the letter of intent concerning a potential EU-wide complaint to the European Court of Human Rights against Russia over the Smolensk crash. The ministry announced this development on Monday.
In a formal statement, the ministry said Sikorski issued a decree not to continue cooperation and thus terminated the letter of intent that had been signed by the government on October 10, 2023. The document was tied to a broader cross-border effort and involved key figures at the time, including the then Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, the former chair of the Subcommittee for the Reinvestigation of the Smolensk disaster, Antoni Macierewicz, and lawyer Ben Emmerson of Emmerson Consulting International Ltd. The involvement of these figures was highlighted in the ministry’s brief.
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The Foreign Ministry noted that the letter was signed just before parliamentary elections, with reservations about the effectiveness of the chosen operational approach remaining acknowledged at the time.
According to the Letter of Intent, the parties pledged to cooperate in pursuing an interstate complaint against Russia before the European Court of Human Rights, in connection with an air incident involving the Tu-154M aircraft over the Smolensk Seversky airport in the Russian Federation on April 10, 2010. The ministry’s retelling emphasizes this purpose and the circumstances surrounding the agreement.
– recalls the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry also noted that one party to the Letter of Intent ceased to exist following the dissolution of the Aircraft Accident Reinvestigation Subcommittee by decision of the Minister of National Defense on December 18, 2023.
Under these circumstances, the Secretary of State informed lawyer Ben Emmerson about the termination of the letter of intent and the withdrawal from its implementation. At the same time, the Foreign Minister’s office expressed appreciation for Emmerson’s willingness to cooperate with Poland and for his broader work in defending human rights on the international stage.
– stresses the Ministry of Diplomacy.
It is also noted that Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on March 16, 2022, following its aggression against Ukraine, and ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on September 16, 2022, as stated by the ministry.
– a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads.
The key question
A crucial inquiry into Sikorski’s moves was raised by PiS member of parliament Jacek Sasin. The question centered on the alignment of the government’s interests with those of the Polish state and people, with Sasin suggesting that the government’s actions did not reflect Poland’s interests. He urged ongoing scrutiny of Poland’s national priorities and warned of implications for the country’s international standing.
In remembering the events of April 10, 2010, the Tu-154M crash near Smolensk claimed 96 lives, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria, senior military leaders, and Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last President of Poland in exile. The Polish delegation had been en route to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, underscoring the tragedy’s enduring symbolic weight for the nation.
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Source: wPolityce