Populist Grzegorz Braun Shared His Proposal For Mutual Polish-Russian De-Escalation

He advised Poland not to close the Russian Consulate in Gdansk and for Russia to restore Polish war emblems to the Katyn War Cemetery, but realistically speaking, Poland won’t make the first move or do so in tandem with Russia so it’s ultimately a question of whether Russia will unilaterally do so.

Leader of the populist-nationalist Confederation of the Polish Crown party and MEP Grzegorz Braun, who scored fourth-place in the first round of the presidential elections in May with 6.34% of the vote, shared his proposal for mutual Polish-Russian de-escalation in letters to both countries’ Foreign Ministers. Beginning with his own, he lambasted Radek Sikorski for closing the Russian Consulate in Gdansk on the pretext of the Kremlin’s involvement in mid-November’s suspicious railroad sabotage incident.

Braun also said that there aren’t many steps of the escalation ladder left for Sikorski to climb, warning that he’s “toying with the Polish nation” and advising him to develop a Polish peace plan for the Ukrainian Conflict and invite the parties to talks in Warsaw instead of continuing to worsen tensions. As for Lavrov, he protested against Russia’s removal of Polish war emblems from the Katyn War Cemetery on alleged technical pretexts, which was seemingly an asymmetrical response to the consulate closure.

He then compellingly argued that this doesn’t target those responsible “for fueling pro-war attitudes and for the devastation of Polish-Russian relations but undermines the deepest foundations of mutual respect between our nations”. Braun then added that the aforesaid “must be preserved even in difficult times, so that there is a basis upon which to rebuild these relations later.” He therefore called for the restoration of the Polish war emblems there as a step towards gradually improving ties in the future.

The essence of his mutual Polish-Russian de-escalation proposal therefore boils down to each reversing their latest moves, which were set into motion by the suspicious railroad sabotage incident that could dangerously escalate tensions. Russia’s asymmetrical response was within its rights since it can do whatever it wants on its territory no matter how it might make others feel, including things that might be controversial abroad but legally justified at home (even if only on hitherto little-known technicalities).

This doesn’t, however, mean that the action that’s been taken is the most effective way to advance national interests. In this context, maintaining the basis for rebuilding Russian-Polish relations should be the imperative, though it’s understandable why the Russian authorities might have finally lost patience with Poland. This is especially so after the demolition of so many Soviet Army monuments. Taking the higher ground by not politicizing Katyn is therefore arguably the best way to advance Russia’s interests.

Restoring Polish war emblems at the Katyn War Cemetery would powerfully show Poles that Russia won’t be provoked by their ruling liberal-globalist coalition into offending all of them. The same goes for signaling to members of its global media ecosystem that it’s unacceptable to blame the Nazis for Katyn after even Putin himself acknowledged Soviet guilt amidst some of them doing this on social media. These actions risk discrediting Poles who have friendly or even just pragmatic views towards Russia.

It’s ultimately Russia’s choice whether to unilaterally reverse its asymmetrical response to Poland’s latest provocation, and it would likely indeed be unilaterally since it’s unforeseeable that Poland will either first change its mind on the consulate closure or do so in parallel with Russia restoring those war emblems. A revival of the historical Russian-Polish rivalry might still be inevitable, but precisely for that reason, it’s important for Russia to counteract perceptions among Poles of it being a threatening or immoral actor.