According to the minister, the international law prescribes taking care of cemeteries, but Poland is not responsible for monuments, which were created "through the communist past" in the country to commemorate the Red Army.
"The second problem if that all these monuments are created in the cities, villages, by the local authorities, so it is the responsibility of the local authorities in Poland, the governments of the cities and villages, to decide of the future of these monuments. If they want to destroy them, that is the responsibility of the local authorities. And these monuments are not protected by the international law and are not protected by the bilateral agreements between Poland and Russia," Waszczykowski added.
On July 17, Polish President Andrzej Duda approved amendments to the so-called de-communization law stipulating the demolition of the Soviet-era monuments in Poland and renaming the objects associated with the Communist legacy in the country. The move was strongly condemned by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
According to Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, there are around 230 Red Army monuments which would be affected by the law after it comes into effect in three months.
