Could air tragedy bring thaw to Russian-Polish relation?
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When Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flew to Poland on Sunday to attend the state funeral of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski, despite the possible impact of the volcanic ash cloud on his plane, people may wonder if the air tragedy that claimed 96 lives could in some ways help bring a favorable turn to the sour Russian-Polish relations.
Russia responds quickly
Russia's quick response to the fatal crash gave a series of positive signals of reconciliation.
After the crash happened in Smolensk of west Russia, Medvedev immediately assigned Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu to the crash site and appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to head the committee on investigation of the accident. He also delivered a television address to Polish people, announcing that a national day of mourning for the disaster victims would be observed in Russia on April 12.
Putin flew to the site to meet with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk and laid flowers to the victims together. The sad hug between the two prime ministers at the tragic scene impressed many TV audience.
In coping with the aftermath of the disaster, Russia also displayed sincere sympathy and supports.
The bodies of the victims were sent to Moscow for identification, and a special emergency center was set up to help the victims' relatives. Experts of the two countries were working together to investigate the cause of the plane crash.
Poland senses the warmth
Western media saw the late Polish president Kaczynski as a lifelong skeptic of Russia, who had preferred to building closer ties with the United States.
However, his death in the catastrophe brought unexpected possibility for improvement of Russian-Polish relations.
On the state funeral of Kaczynski, Medvedev called for the two nations, with tense relations for decades, to unite in sorrow.
He said that rapprochement of Poles and Russians was needed and both countries were making "a step into the future."
