Polish Russian Wobble
President Putin said that Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's statement that "Russia without Ukraine is better than Russia with Ukraine" was wrong.
"There is the impression that this was not the statement of a president, but a man looking for a job in communication after his term expires," Mr. Putin said at a press conference. "I am not sure this statement can be considered correct."
Mr. Putin said that Moscow paid attention to Mr. Kwasniewski's statement.
He said it was necessary to understand what Mr. Kwasniewski meant. "We are not going to annex anything," Mr. Putin said. "If the statement is read as an attempt to restrict Russia's capability of developing relations with its neighbors, it can be viewed as the desire to isolate the Russian Federation."
In this connection, Mr. Putin mentioned Poland's position on Chechnya.
"If this is so," he said, "[Poland's] position on Chechnya is clearer. It means that the policy of creating elements to shake the Russian Federation is being conducted there."
"There is also something also to do in Poland," he said. "Unemployment there is 20% now."
"In 1993 Poland's debt was about $47 billion and we knocked off 30% for political reasons," he said, "and Poland has built up a debt of 92 billion euros today."