In an interview with RIA Novosti, former Polish Prime Minister (2001-2004) Leszek Miller says that Russia and Europe need to develop their relations gently. Mr Miller is to take part in the forthcoming meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. In Europe, they expect Russia to continue promoting its market economy and democracy, but understand that Russia should not blindly follow European traditions, Leszek Miller said.

The first Pole to participate in Valdai Discussion Club

The well-known Polish politician first took part in the Valdai Forum in 2009. “I was the first Pole to participate in the Valdai discussions. Of course, I found it very interesting to see first hand what such an important event was like,” Miller says.

Miller returned to Warsaw “full of impressions” after his first Valdai experience. “It gave me the opportunity for many interesting discussions and meetings with high ranking Russian officials, including the Prime Minister, the President, and the Foreign Minister. I was impressed by the atmosphere of the meetings, the facilities, and the sightseeing program. This was the first time I visited such a remote area in Russia’s hinterland,” said Miller.
“It was not just an opportunity to hear the views of Russian leaders, but also to exchange opinions with participants from other countries, including the United States, Germany, and Great Britain,” added Miller.
Miller thinks the fact that this year’s forum “will see more visitors from Poland could indicate an increased interest in Polish-Russian relations.”

“I can say that this process is taking place, and that the results are noticeable. The 70th anniversary of the massacre of Polish officers at Katyn, the meeting there, in Katyn, between the Russian and Polish prime ministers, and then the terrible tragedy, the crash of the presidential plane near Smolensk on April 10, as well as the sincere response and condolences from the Russian authorities and ordinary Russians. Before that, last year, we saw the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II and Prime Minister Putin’s visit to Westerplatte in Gdansk. All this creates opportunities for the revival of Polish-Russian dialogue,” Miller said.

Miller also thinks that the election of Bronislaw Komorowski as the new Polish President may trigger a greater Russian interest in relations with Poland.

He said the “Valdai meetings are very useful” for him.

“Any government needs first of all to state its own opinions and positions. I was very impressed, for example, by the fact that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spared almost three hours to meet with us and engage in an open discussion. President Dmitry Medvedev did the same. From my own experience, I know how difficult it is to spare so much time in a prime minister’s busy schedule for such meetings and debates. Russia’s current leaders do find the time for events like this, which testifies to the fact that they attach great significance to such meetings,” Miller said.

The former prime minister also praised the creativity of the forum organizers, who chose to take this year’s participants on a tour of St. Petersburg, Russia’s Northern capital. “The ‘tourist’ part of the program is very well thought-out. St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and with every visit, the Northern capital reveals a new aspect of itself. And the trips to the Kizhi and Valaam islands will be a totally new experience for me, as I have never been there before,” he said.

Good neighbors

As for this year’s discussion points, Miller said he was most interested in the topic Russia and its Neighbors:

Best-case scenarios and real interaction models (Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, and other countries).
“Until recently, government leaders in Poland and Ukraine did not conceal their hostile attitude towards Russia, and

Georgia still has such a president. In both Poland and Ukraine, new presidents have come to power. I hope this will stop the attempts, actively pursued by Lech Kaczynski, to create a cordon sanitaire of sorts around Russia stretching from the Baltic states, through Poland and Ukraine to Georgia,” said Miller.
He believes that Poland’s previous policy “was a big mistake in terms of its consequences, as it contributed more to the isolation of Poland rather than Russia.”

“I think the discussion will provide a good opportunity for us to talk about the relations among Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, now that we have new leaders at the helm in Kiev and Warsaw,” the Polish politician said.
Miller believes that Bronislaw Komorowski will not continue his predecessor’s policies toward Moscow. “The Poles should seek good neighborly and warm relations with Russia, we should get back to what the phrase ‘good neighbors,’ really means,” said the former Polish Prime Minister.

Co-chairman of the session

This year, Leszek Miller will be the foreign co-chair of the Valdai Club’s session “Russia in the World: Can it become what the world wants it to be? What does it want to become?”

“I think this is an important topic. We must proceed from where Russia is at the moment. I believe that any leader of modern Russia should seek to maintain the country as a great power. The current president and prime minister will have to strive for this, as will those who come later. The key, however, is the question of what it means to be a great power. Does it just mean having stockpiles of nuclear weapons, or does it also require a well-functioning economy and democratic system? It would be very interesting to hear what the Russians themselves think on this subject,” Miller said.

Europe, according to Miller, expects that Russia “will continue on the path to the market economy and democracy, but understands that Russia should not blindly follow European traditions.”

“No one can impose a particular pace of reforms on Russia. Worldwide, there are no magic answers, and each country has to chart its own course, especially considering Russia’s vast territory, and the problems they face that we in Europe do not. We should just continue developing our relations gently," said Miller.