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Polish PM Condemns Putin for World War II 'Lies'

Agence France-Presse

   WARSAW - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday condemned
   Russian President Vladimir Putin for blaming Poland for the outbreak of
   World War II, saying Moscow was lying to deflect attention from recent
   failures.

   Poland's foreign ministry had already summoned the Russian ambassador
   in protest on Friday, recalling that the war began with a Soviet-German
   alliance and that Poland lost around six million citizens in the
   conflict.

   "President Putin has lied about Poland on numerous occasions, and he
   has always done it deliberately," Morawiecki said in a statement.

   "This usually happens when Russian authorities feel international
   pressure related to their activities.... In recent weeks Russia has
   suffered several significant defeats," he added.

   As examples, Morawiecki mentioned that the European Union had prolonged
   sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea, Russian
   athletes were suspended for four years for doping, and Russia "failed
   in its attempt to take complete control over Belarus."

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