Borders Will Stay, Bonn’s President Says in Poland
President Richard von Weizsaecker, the first West German head of state to visit Poland, told his hosts Wednesday that a united Germany would never question their postwar frontiers.
He began his four-day visit by reassuring Poles that a unified German state would treat their western and northern borders, which include prewar German lands, as inviolable.
“The substance of the matter has been clarified, but it will be put in the necessary binding legal form during the process of German unification,” Weizsaecker told a news conference.
Asked to spell out what he meant, he said: “This means that the border as it runs today and the areas as they are divided up today are inviolable now and in the future.”
Weizsaecker’s statement follows a stubborn diplomatic campaign by Poland for ironclad guarantees that its borders will be respected by a united Germany.
Polish and West German spokesmen said that senior Foreign Ministry officials from Poland and the two Germanys will meet in Warsaw today to discuss the issue and consider a draft border treaty prepared by Poland.
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