Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has distanced itself from claims made by Kiev’s ambassador to Berlin, which have sparked outrage in Poland and Israel.
Earlier the diplomat, Andrey Melnik, denied that Stepan Bandera – a controversial Ukrainian national hero who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII – was implicated in the mass murder of Jews and Poles.
There are “no issues” that divide Kiev and Warsaw now, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday as it praised Poland for supporting Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. Both nations understand “the need to preserve unity,” it added.
“The opinion that the Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andrey Melnik expressed in an interview with a German journalist is of his own and does not reflect the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine,” the statement added.