Establishing Relationships With European Countries
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the establishment of seven new sovereign states in Poland's immediate neighborhood (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia), of which Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia (through the Kaliningrad Oblast) border Poland. Poland has actively pursued good relations with all its neighboring countries, signing friendship treaties replacing links severed by the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. The Poles have forged special relationships with Lithuania and particularly Ukraine in an effort to firmly anchor these states to the West.
Due to its tragic historical experience with a repeating pattern of disloyal allies and simultaneous aggression of powerful neighbors (e.g., Partitions of Poland, Second World War), Polish foreign policy pursues close cooperation with a strong partner, one apt enough to give strong military support in times of critical situations. This creates the background of Poland's tight relations with the USA and their sensitivity in relations towards its partner within the European Union, Germany. At the same time, the equally burdened attitude towards Russia results in very tense diplomatic relations, which have been constantly worsening since Vladimir Putin's rise to power. This is an important factor for the special attention Poland pays to the political emancipation of all its Eastern neighbors: Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.
Read more about this topic: Foreign Relations Of Poland
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