Medvedev hands over Poland Katyn massacre documents

Prior to the WWII celebrations, Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev has handed over official papers from the investigation into the Katyn massacre to the acting President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski.

At a meeting with Komarowski, Dmitry Medvedev handed over 67 volumes of criminal case number 159 on the Katyn massacre. Medvedev personally gave the first volume of the case and the list of materials to Komarowski.

"As I said in Krakow, I will make efforts and give instructions to further investigate the Katyn-related documents, including case number 159," said Dmitry Medvedev.

The acting Polish president, in turn, expressed his gratitude to the Russian government for the move, which is widely viewed as a step towards improving the countries’ relation.

"We thank you for what you have said and done. We consider it to be the beginning of further work to untie this Katyn knot," Komorowski said.

"The truth about Katyn is a common test that both the Polish and Russian people have endured. This truth could be a good basis for the development of relations between the two countries," he added.

Bronislaw Komorowski has come to Moscow to take part in the Victory Day celebrations this weekend. Dmitry Medvedev thanked the acting president for his willingness to attend the festive events.

The documents, which have also been published online, show that the killing of over twenty thousand Polish officers and prisoners of war in Katyn in 1940 was approved by Soviet leaders led by Stalin.

First acknowledged by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the massacre has become a major strain in Russian-Polish relations in recent years.