“The warning delivered by Lech Kaczyński in Tbilisi in 2008 sounds like a dark prophecy today.” This was stated in a declaration released by the Polish Embassy in Georgia on August 12 — on the 18th anniversary of the arrival of Lech Kaczyński and other European leaders in Georgia as a sign of solidarity and to halt the Russian advance in Georgia.
Speaking to the crowd gathered on Rustaveli Avenue at the time, the President of Poland declared:
“We know full well: today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the day after tomorrow the Baltic states, and then the turn may come for our country, Poland.”
As the Embassy of the Republic of Poland noted, addressing those assembled, Kaczyński assured them that Georgia could count on the help of its friends and that it was the duty of the international community to stand up to Russian imperial ambitions.
“The courage and solidarity he spoke of then serve as a lesson for us today and for the future,” the diplomatic mission said in its statement.
As a reminder, on August 12, 2008, the Polish president was joined in Tbilisi by the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia, and Ukraine, as well as the Prime Minister of Latvia.
Lech Kaczyński died on April 10, 2010, in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia.
