ANALYSIS: Russian visit changes few minds, but shifts Polish mood

By Dominika Maslikowski Sep 12, 2008, 14:51 GMT

Warsaw - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's meeting with his Polish counterpart did little to change either nation's stance on Georgia or the US anti-missile shield, but many saw it as a goodwill gesture from the Kremlin that eased tensions.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said after Thursday's talks that the meeting itself was proof both sides were 'open to dialogue' even during heightened tensions.

Poland will continue speaking its mind, but the meeting helped him 'better understand' the Russian stance, he said.

While Lavrov didn't soften Russian's disapproving stance on a US anti-missile shield to be set up partly on Polish soil, he said the threat came from US plans to globalize the system, not from the Polish side.

Sikorski promised Poland would act in a 'transparent' way to build trust between the nations.

Lavrov, on the other hand, had said Russia was ready to talk about guarantees as long as they weren't 'empty political gestures.'

Some commentators had been skeptical the visit would bring real results and saw it as nothing more than an official formality.

Poland did come away reaffirming support for Georgia in last month's conflict with Russia over two breakaway territories.

And Russia maintained its disapproval for the US anti-missile system, which they believe is targeted at Moscow's nuclear arsenal.

But in a time when Polish-Russian tensions are reaching new highs, others said the visit showed Russia's willingness towards diplomacy with its Western neighbors.

Criticism came from Poland's right-wing Law and Justice party, whose head said the Russian visit was part of a 'strategic attempt to break' the European Union's stance on Georgia.

President Lech Kaczynski, one of the party's founders, emerged as Georgia's strongest supporters in ex-communist Eastern Europe.

He has told the Kremlin that 'imperial times have ended.'

Others took a more diplomatic view, the Polish Press Agency reported, saying the visit showed Russia values improving its relations with Poland.

'Russia treats Poland seriously,' said Krzysztof Liska, head of the Polish parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, about the value of Lavrov's visit. 'It values Poland's role in the EU.'

Analysts thought Lavrov's visit was proof of Poland's growing influence in international politics, PAP reported, and showed Russia's need to reaffirm itself as an important partner to Warsaw.

And while both sides are unlikely to shift their stances on the anti-missile shield or Georgia, the visit stressed Polish and Russian interests can't be separated.

Although the nations might be uneasy neighbours, they are reliant on each other economically.