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                   Russian Ambassador Regrets Offending Poles

   by Associated Press

   Russia's ambassador to Poland has partly backtracked from an accusation
   that Poland bears some blame for starting World War II because of its
   policies in the 1930s, words that outraged Poles.

   Sergey Andreev said Monday he had no intention of offending the Polish
   nation and added: "I regret that I wasn't sufficiently precise."

   He spoke to reporters after being summoned to the Foreign Ministry
   following comments in a TV interview Friday that sparked the uproar.

   World War II began after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sealed a
   secret pact in 1939 to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern
   Europe. Millions of Polish citizens died in the conflict.

   Andreev on Friday described Soviet actions as an act of self-defense,
   not aggression.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-russian-ambassador-regrets-offendi
   ng-poles/2982189.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-russian-ambassador-regrets-offending-poles/2982189.html