Polish acting President Bronislaw Komorowski said Friday he will attend events in Moscow marking the end of World War II, according to dpa. Komorowski said he will fly to Moscow in a rented plane to attend the May 9 celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Komorowski told Radio ZET that the visit will also include bilateral talks. Polish and Russian relations have warmed recently after Warsaw praised Moscow for their help in the aftermath of a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia. The crash killed President Lech Kaczynski and some 95 other crew, politicians and military brass who were en route to Katyn for ceremonies marking the Soviet-era massacre of Polish officers. It was important now "to maintain the specific climate that, paradoxically, came after the dramatic catastrophe over Smolensk, near the Katyn graves," Komorowski told Radio ZET. "We all feel that something has happened in Polish-Russian relations, and that this can either be deepened, or ruined," Komorowski said. Hei added that he invited onto his plane the former General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who declared martial law in communist Poland in 1981 in an effort to crack down on Lech Walesa's Solidarity labour union. Jaruzelski is a divisive figure in Poland: some consider him a traitor for ordering the crackdown, while others claim martial law was necessary to avoid a possible Soviet invasion. Komorowski said it was "absolutely natural and understandable" that Jaruzelski attend the events as a figure who was involved in World War II. Komorowski added the general had previously been invited by deceased President Kaczynski, who was likely to attend the events in the Red Square. The end of World War II was bittersweet for Poland. It was the end of the Nazi occupation of the country, but also the beginning of the country's Soviet-backed communist regime.
