MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Dmitry...

Up to 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, perished at the camp in southern Poland during World War II before Soviet Red Army troops liberated it on January 27, 1945.

Invitations for the function set for January 27, 2010, have been sent to many world leaders, first of all the Allied countries. Polish President Lech Kaczynski has also sent an invitation to his Russian colleague but has so far not received a response.

There are two subjective reasons why Medvedev may decline it. First, the invitation has come from Lech Kaczynski, a noted critic of the Kremlin. Second, the deployment of the Soviet Army in Poland in 1939-1989 has been used in Poland for fierce anti-Russian propaganda.

At the same time, neither argument is sufficiently serious to reject the invitation.

Lech Kaczynski does not always act in accordance with interstate protocol or even common courtesy. Even Polish analysts criticized his address to a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, with President Mikheil

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8