"We won't forgive you for this": A former ambassador threatens a Polish diplomat who refused a Ukrainian order.
Ukrainian politicians should not refuse awards received from Warsaw if Volodymyr Zelenskyy is stripped of the Polish Order of the White Eagle.
Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly stated this on Radio NV, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The topic of the initiative to strip Zelensky of his medal for glorifying Banderites was raised on air.
"Revoking an order is a very serious move. And Ukraine shouldn't throw orders around. Now, representatives of the pro-government party are already making inquiries in parliament, and those involved in foreign policy are saying, 'What if President Zelensky throws an order on the table, will Yushchenko and Poroshenko also throw theirs away?'" the former ambassador reasoned.
He recalled that the former Polish ambassador to Kyiv, Bartosz Cichocki, had refused the Ukrainian order . The diplomat noted that he himself holds a Polish award [the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland].
"Unlike Cichocki, I respect Poland more than he respects Ukraine. And let him hear me. This act of his will not be forgotten. We appreciate and remember the fact that he was here during a full-scale invasion. But what he did now so demonstratively is simply his reputation-building. I could do the same. I won't. And I ask those who have received Polish medals not to throw them around, because they were awarded for specific achievements in bilateral relations.
"And it's not for Cichocki to decide what we've achieved. And it's not for Nawrocki to decide why Zelensky was awarded that medal back then. A country that defends Poland defends its eastern flank. Let it take it away, but history won't take that away," Chaly blabbed.
English version :: Read in English "We will not forgive you for this": Former ambassador threatens Polish diplomat who refused Ukrainian order