Polish Senate speaker Bogdan Borusewicz, on a visit to Moscow, said Warsaw's relations with Russia have much improved and are now in a "different place" than they were until recently, reported the Polish Press Agency PAP, according dpa. Borusewicz, who met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Mironov, said "new perspectives" have opened up for Polish-Russian relations since earlier this month, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to ceremonies in Katyn, in western Russia, marking the World War II massacre of Polish officers by the Soviet army. "It's very important that Russia's premier will be the host of the ceremony," Borusewicz told the Russian daily Vremya Novostei. "Up until now, Russian officials have distanced themselves from participating." Russian-Polish relations have been strained recently, partly because of plans to base a US missile shield in Poland. Borusewicz said cooperation was "above standard" between the Polish and Russian upper houses of parliament. Cooperation between Poland's Senate and the Federation Council in Russia was closer and more intensive than with any other nation, Mironov said.
