In a critique of the recent spy swap, Mariusz Kamiński, the former Polish interior minister and special services coordinator, has labeled the operation a “moral and political failure.”
Speaking to wPolityce.pl news outlet, Kamiński revealed Poland had a strong bargaining chip in the form of a valuable Russian spy, Pawel Rubcov, also known as Pablo Gonzalez, who had been undercover as a Spanish journalist and was being held in a Polish prison.
“We had this argument in our hands with a valuable Russian spy who was also sitting in our prison. It was a simple matter. All we needed was the will, some thought, and a bit of assertiveness towards our allies. It would not have been a dishonor for the Americans; on the contrary, it would have created a climate of mutual respect,” Kamiński stated.
The former minister explained that during the Law and Justice (PiS) government, the Americans approached Poland about initiating prisoner exchange talks with Russia. Kamiński responded positively to the idea, particularly because it could include political prisoners held in Putin’s Russia and Belarus ruled by Lukashenko’s regime.
He proposed including Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish opposition figure sentenced to eight years in prison in Belarus, and a Russian citizen of Polish descent, sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp on charges of collaborating with Polish intelligence.
However, after the change of government following the elections, the final exchange did not include Poczobut or the other individual. Kamiński expressed dismay at what he sees as a missed opportunity to secure their release, calling it an embarrassing defeat and a complete disregard for their compatriot.
“The Americans and Prime Minister Donald Tusk may trumpet this as a success, but it is a humiliating failure, a total forgetfulness of our countryman. There was a real possibility of getting Poczobut out of prison,” Kamiński emphasized.
Kamiński also criticized the new left-liberal coalition government for the brutal purges within the special services leadership. He lamented the significant losses in expertise, from cyber security to operational personnel, and the lack of a proper state-led transition in the services, which he described as characterized by “fury, hatred, revenge, and informing.”
