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Conference to Mark 30th Anniversary of Signing of Polish-Lithuanian Treaty
On 28 June 2024, the Polish History Museum hosted a conference to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendly Relations and Good-Neighbourly Cooperation between Lithuania and Poland. The event was accompanied by a presentation of the exhibition The Polish-Lithuanian Treaty: Towards Ever Closer Relations. The conference was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Republic of Poland in cooperation with the Polish History Museum and the Lithuanian Institute of History.
The agreement on friendly relations and good-neighbourly cooperation between Lithuania and Poland concluded on 26 April 1994 laid the foundations for a strategic partnership between the two countries. At the same time, it contributed to the shattering of historical stereotypes lingering among the Lithuanian and Polish political and social elites and allowed a constructive look into the future. The process of mutual rapprochement was crowned by the membership of both countries in NATO and the European Union. The support of the Lithuanian and Polish diasporas in the USA was also of great importance in the process of integration into the Western space.
This significant anniversary of the Treaty provided an opportunity to not just look back at the past, but also to discuss prospects for Polish-Lithuanian relations in the future and those for broader regional cooperation.
The conference was opened by Prof. Michał Kopczyński speaking on behalf of the Director of the Polish History Museum Robert Kostro: ‘I can honestly say. It started badly,’ he said, referring to the difficult relations between Poland and Lithuania in the early Middle Ages, until the two countries united to fight the Teutonic Order’. ‘Despite various critical opinions, this merger turned out to be a success in the sense that, as calculated by Robert Frost, a researcher of interstate unions in the modern era, the Polish-Lithuanian union was the longest lasting one, i.e. thus successful,’ Prof. Kopczyński concluded.
On the Lithuanian side, conference participants were welcomed by the Chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Lithuania in our country Audronė Markevičienė and Director of the Lithuanian Institute of History Prof. Alvydas Nikžentaitis.
Among the invited guests were Prof. Egidijus Meilūnas, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, former Ambassador of Poland to Lithuania, as well as former Deputy Head of the Polish Ministry of the Interior Prof. Jan Widacki and Ambassador to Poland and former Foreign Minister of Lithuania Antanas Valionis.
The meeting was addressed by Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Valdas Adamkus, and was also attended by editor Adam Michnik, historian Dr Pawel Libera and deputy editor-in-chief of Rzeczpospolita Michał Szułdrzyński.
‘Poland and Lithuania share a sense of common experience, especially in the shadow of the Yaltan era and in freeing ourselves from its fetters. We also have a sense of the road we have travelled together in recent decades, so that we have come closer together in human, social and political terms. Our presence in the European Union and NATO is an important guarantee for the security of both Lithuania and Poland, since as neighbours and allies we confirm our readiness to help each other,’ wrote President Aleksander Kwaśniewski in a letter to conference participants.
Adam Michnik, who attended the conference in person, said: ‘I belonged to a milieu for which it was obvious that we should favour Lithuanian aspirations for freedom (...).’ ‘We were afraid of various things, but we were convinced that in one way or another the aspirations of independence, democracy and freedom of Lithuanians must be fulfilled.’
Professor Jan Widacki, who was Polish Ambassador to Lithuania in the early 1990s, noted that it was a time of uncertainty and many changes. 'The Yaltan order is falling apart and there is great uncertainty about what will happen next,’ he said. ‘Lithuanians were distrustful. They were afraid that we were going to do something with the borders, the incorporation of minorities. We had to convince the Lithuanians that we do not want this revision of the borders, that we do not want this Vilnius, despite our sentiments, and that it is in our interest not to move the borders,’ recalls Widacki. ‘It was difficult, but we succeeded,’ he concluded.
Antanas Valionis, a former Lithuanian Ambassador to Poland who took office shortly after the treaty was signed, recalls the situation at the time: ‘The treaty is signed, we have peace of mind, no deeper Polish-Lithuanian relations will take place because of historical pasts,’ Valionis quotes a conversation with his superior. ‘Fortunately, time has shown quite the opposite. After just four to six years we signed a strategic partnership, which contributed significantly to us becoming members of the European Union and NATO so quickly,’ said the former ambassador.
Another session was devoted to the position of national minorities, Polish in Lithuania and Lithuanian in Poland. Prof. Jan Widacki and Daniel Ilkevič, advisor to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, were on hand to debate the issue. Changes in the position of the Polish minority were discussed, including the spelling of Polish family names.
During the session on perspectives for the development of Polish-Lithuanian relations, the moderator, Dr Małgorzata Kasner, debated with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Egidijus Meilūnas and the General Counsellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Republic Marcin Wojciechowski. The discussants unanimously emphasised the need to deepen cooperation between our countries at a time of instability and the threat of resurgent Russian imperialism. It was also pointed out that diplomatic action should be accompanied by work to deepen relations between our societies.
During the final session chaired by Prof. Alvydas Nikžentaitis, a book recently published also in Polish Litwini a litewscy Polacy. Litwa a Polska 1988–1994 [Lithuanians and Lithuanian Poles. Lithuania and Poland 1988–1994] by Dr. Vladas Sirutavičius was discussed. The debate was attended by the author and Dr Paweł Libera. The book was awarded first prize in a competition organised by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the best book on the history of Polish diplomacy in 2023.
This significant anniversary of the Treaty provided an opportunity to not just look back at the past, but also to discuss prospects for Polish-Lithuanian relations in the future and those for broader regional cooperation.
The conference was opened by Prof. Michał Kopczyński speaking on behalf of the Director of the Polish History Museum Robert Kostro: ‘I can honestly say. It started badly,’ he said, referring to the difficult relations between Poland and Lithuania in the early Middle Ages, until the two countries united to fight the Teutonic Order’. ‘Despite various critical opinions, this merger turned out to be a success in the sense that, as calculated by Robert Frost, a researcher of interstate unions in the modern era, the Polish-Lithuanian union was the longest lasting one, i.e. thus successful,’ Prof. Kopczyński concluded.
On the Lithuanian side, conference participants were welcomed by the Chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Lithuania in our country Audronė Markevičienė and Director of the Lithuanian Institute of History Prof. Alvydas Nikžentaitis.
Among the invited guests were Prof. Egidijus Meilūnas, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, former Ambassador of Poland to Lithuania, as well as former Deputy Head of the Polish Ministry of the Interior Prof. Jan Widacki and Ambassador to Poland and former Foreign Minister of Lithuania Antanas Valionis.
The meeting was addressed by Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Valdas Adamkus, and was also attended by editor Adam Michnik, historian Dr Pawel Libera and deputy editor-in-chief of Rzeczpospolita Michał Szułdrzyński.
‘Poland and Lithuania share a sense of common experience, especially in the shadow of the Yaltan era and in freeing ourselves from its fetters. We also have a sense of the road we have travelled together in recent decades, so that we have come closer together in human, social and political terms. Our presence in the European Union and NATO is an important guarantee for the security of both Lithuania and Poland, since as neighbours and allies we confirm our readiness to help each other,’ wrote President Aleksander Kwaśniewski in a letter to conference participants.
Adam Michnik, who attended the conference in person, said: ‘I belonged to a milieu for which it was obvious that we should favour Lithuanian aspirations for freedom (...).’ ‘We were afraid of various things, but we were convinced that in one way or another the aspirations of independence, democracy and freedom of Lithuanians must be fulfilled.’
Professor Jan Widacki, who was Polish Ambassador to Lithuania in the early 1990s, noted that it was a time of uncertainty and many changes. 'The Yaltan order is falling apart and there is great uncertainty about what will happen next,’ he said. ‘Lithuanians were distrustful. They were afraid that we were going to do something with the borders, the incorporation of minorities. We had to convince the Lithuanians that we do not want this revision of the borders, that we do not want this Vilnius, despite our sentiments, and that it is in our interest not to move the borders,’ recalls Widacki. ‘It was difficult, but we succeeded,’ he concluded.
Antanas Valionis, a former Lithuanian Ambassador to Poland who took office shortly after the treaty was signed, recalls the situation at the time: ‘The treaty is signed, we have peace of mind, no deeper Polish-Lithuanian relations will take place because of historical pasts,’ Valionis quotes a conversation with his superior. ‘Fortunately, time has shown quite the opposite. After just four to six years we signed a strategic partnership, which contributed significantly to us becoming members of the European Union and NATO so quickly,’ said the former ambassador.
Another session was devoted to the position of national minorities, Polish in Lithuania and Lithuanian in Poland. Prof. Jan Widacki and Daniel Ilkevič, advisor to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, were on hand to debate the issue. Changes in the position of the Polish minority were discussed, including the spelling of Polish family names.
During the session on perspectives for the development of Polish-Lithuanian relations, the moderator, Dr Małgorzata Kasner, debated with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Egidijus Meilūnas and the General Counsellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Republic Marcin Wojciechowski. The discussants unanimously emphasised the need to deepen cooperation between our countries at a time of instability and the threat of resurgent Russian imperialism. It was also pointed out that diplomatic action should be accompanied by work to deepen relations between our societies.
During the final session chaired by Prof. Alvydas Nikžentaitis, a book recently published also in Polish Litwini a litewscy Polacy. Litwa a Polska 1988–1994 [Lithuanians and Lithuanian Poles. Lithuania and Poland 1988–1994] by Dr. Vladas Sirutavičius was discussed. The debate was attended by the author and Dr Paweł Libera. The book was awarded first prize in a competition organised by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the best book on the history of Polish diplomacy in 2023.
