Polish presidential candidate wants warmer ties with Russia

Poland's leading centre-left presidential candidate has criticised the country's hawkish approach to Russia, pledging to mend relations with the Kremlin if elected and pay a state visit to Moscow.

Magdalena Ogorek's stance represents a direct challenge to a Polish foreign policy towards Russia that has hardened since the Ukraine crisis erupted more than a year ago.

In close alignment with the US and other Nato allies, Warsaw has been one of the leading voices in Europe demanding a tough response to Moscow for supporting separatist rebels in the east of the country.

The criticism of Poland's approach, which reflects Warsaw's suspicion of Moscow's intentions across the region, comes amid fears that European unity over Ukraine could unravel with the emergence of pro-Russian political bodies, particularly in eastern Europe.

"The foreign policy of Poland in the east is wrongly performed," said Ms Ogorek, presidential candidate for the Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (SLD) party. "Poland can't do very much about [the invasion of Ukraine]."

"As president I want to pursue relations with the Russian Federation in a very balanced way," she added. "We have to go to great lengths to normalise our relations."

Ms Ogorek is performing poorly in polls ahead of the May 10 vote, and her party has struggled to regain relevance since losing both the presidency and control of the government in 2005.

Still, Ms Ogorek emphasised that her opinion is shared by a growing number of Poles who fear the rising military tension in the region - something she blames on Warsaw's reaction to the crisis.

Ms Ogorek said she was "absolutely against" sending any Polish troops to join a possible UN peacekeeping force in the country, and called for the removal of EU sanctions against Russia, which she said "are not working any more."

"If I get an invitation from Russia immediately after taking over the office, after being elected president, and they invite me to come to Moscow, I would definitely accept the invitation and go to Moscow," she told the Financial Times.

Poland has been at the forefront of a small but vocal group of EU members - including the Baltic states and the UK - that have led criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's involvement in Ukraine. They are set against more dovish states such as Italy, Greece and Hungary, which have been reluctant to antagonise Moscow due to close trade and business relations.

Ms Ogorek warned of the risks Poland faced in opposing its neighbour. "Russia has nuclear weapons . . . you must have no imagination to think that they would never be able to use their doctrine," she said. "People in Poland are frightened . . . But we must remember that we border with the Russian Federation, and our relations with Russia must be done in a very balanced way."

Bronislaw Komorowski, the incumbent president, who is heavily favoured for re-election, has been one of Europe's most visible supporters of Kiev and Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president. During a visit to Kiev this month he said Poland "would not shrink from participation" in any potential deployment of peacekeeping troops.

Drawing on Ukraine and Poland's chequered and complicated history, Ms Ogorek cited the passage of a bill in the Ukrainian parliament this month that honoured a Ukrainian paramilitary force that Poland says killed more than 100,000 Poles during the second world war as a reason why Poland should have "very little significance for Ukraine today."

The 36-year-old Ms Ogorek was an unexpected choice as the SLD candidate, and her campaign has been beset by criticism over her perceived lack of experience by Poland's leading political commentators and newspapers.

Before her candidacy, the former television presenter and political assistant was a lecturer at private universities in Poland. Her manifesto focuses heavily on promoting entrepreneurialism and improving job prospects for young people.

On Thursday, Gazeta Wyborcza, the leading Polish daily, reported that the party, which won the presidency in 1995 and 2000, was considering withdrawing its support for her candidacy due to disputes over her policies.

The SLD denied this in a statement supporting Ms Ogorek, who claimed that the article was part of a larger campaign to attack her due to the fact she was the only woman in a field of 11 candidates.

"My campaign is especially difficult . . . there are many barriers and obstacles," she said. "I am the only woman in this race . . . I have to be twice as powerful and strong, because they require more from me."

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