People want to remember, Łukasz Jasina, spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told TVP World on Monday, commenting on the Volhynia Massacre. The murder of up to 120,000 Poles, conducted by Ukrainians in the Volhynia region (present day Ukraine) between 1943 and 1945, has been a subject of a long-lasting dispute between the two countries.

As he explained, the crime resulted from Germany fueling up extremist sentiments and hatred towards Poland among Ukrainians.

“This tragedy has been dividing Poles and Ukrainians for many years. During the communist period in Poland, the issue was not even being mentioned and from the beginning of the 1990s it was not addressed enough by the two countries because of the relations between them,” Mr Jasina pointed out.

“But now, mostly due to the Russian aggression on Ukraine, the situation has changed,” he said.

When asked about the approach towards the event which would bring the dispute over it to the end, Mr Jasina pointed out that “people want to remember” such important moments in history and one of the ways to treat the matter is to spread the truth.

“Many Ukrainians still believe that the Volhynia Massacre did not happen,” he explained. “Sometimes it is due to a lack of knowledge, sometimes it is political manipulation.”

Learn more by watching the full interview above.