Warsaw Views Its Role in German Talks as Triumph
Poland on Thursday said its planned inclusion in German reunification talks is a diplomatic triumph that marks the end of the “Yalta era.”
“I think the real end of Yalta took place yesterday,” government spokeswoman Malgorzata Niezabitowska said in a televised statement. She called the decision “a success for all Poles.”
Meeting Wednesday in Bonn, East and West Germany and the major World War II Allied powers--the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union--agreed to invite Poland to discuss border issues during their talks on reunification.
Niezabitowska said the invitation ended an era that began in 1945 with the Yalta conference, at which U.S., Soviet and British leaders decided the postwar shape of Europe.
“I hope this will be a good precedent and that every state from now on will be able to . . . participate at times when its fate is to be decided,” she said.
However, Foreign Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski appeared to raise the stakes by saying Warsaw wants a voice on topics other than border issues, such as Germany’s political and military situation.
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