LONDON, September 3. /TASS/: Russia’s Embassy in London has referred to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s words regarding the beginning of the World War II as unacceptable. PM said in a video message posted on Twitter late last week that in September 1939 Poland found itself "trapped between the hammer of fascism and the anvil of communism."
"This statement, made on the day of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War, is perplexing. With all historical discussions around the Soviet military operation in the eastern areas of Poland (Western Ukraine and Western Belarus), to describe things in a way that effectively equates the actions of the USSR to Hitler’s aggression is absolutely unacceptable. If one is to discuss who, apart from Hitler, is responsible for the Polish tragedy of 1939, one cannot avoid recalling the role of the British diplomacy that not only connived in the Nazis’ aggressive policies (remember Austria, Czechoslovakia, Memel), but also continuously frustrated Soviet proposals to build an efficient anti-Nazi alliance, including specifically to defend Poland," the diplomatic mission’s press service said in a statement.
"This discussion may be lengthy, but let’s leave it to historians. A vast majority of Russians and Britons, when recalling the Second World War, pay tribute to the fallen and to the Soviet-British alliance. It is regrettable that the Prime Minister has chosen a different angle which, thankfully, does not enjoy much popularity in Britain," the embassy noted.
