The United States joined Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Thursday in opposing any Russian attempts to rewrite history after President Vladimir Putin said the Baltic states had consented to their 1940 annexation by the Soviet Union. The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered the rebuttal in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the three Baltic countries. The statement marked the 80th anniversary of a 1940 declaration by then-acting U.S. Secretary of State Sumner Welles condemning the Soviet takeover of the three countries. The Estonian Foreign Affairs ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the recent statements.
Source – Polskie Radio
German firms have called for retaliatory measures over any new US sanctions on the disputed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea, a Polish website has reported.
The energetyka24.com website quoted a German business leader as saying that an organisation in his country was working on proposals for retaliatory steps in response to a threat of further US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project. He argued in the interview that retaliatory measures could take the form of “counter-sanctions,” diplomatic steps and compensation for companies targeted by US sanctions.
The Nord Stream 2 undersea gas link is an energy project strongly criticised by Poland and the United States amid concerns that the pipeline will make the European Union more dependent on Russian gas.
Source – Polskie Radio
Consumer sentiment in Poland has picked up in July in a third straight month of improvement after a severe slump earlier this year, the country’s Central Statistical Office has reported.
As the economy emerges from the coronavirus shock, the state-run statistics agency said its Current Consumer Confidence Index, which describes current trends in personal consumption, improved by 6 points from June, while remaining in negative territory.
Polish consumers were more positive about the prospects of the economy than a month earlier, and their evaluation of their own financial condition also improved from June. In April, consumer sentiment in Poland had plunged to its lowest level since 2004 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Source – Polskie Radio, stat.gov.pl
Local football team Lechia Gdańsk narrowly lost to rivals Cracovia in the Polish football cup final yesterday in a nail-biting final and tense final that ended with the scoreline at 3-2 in extra time.
The local team opened the score sheet in the 20th minute with Cracovia levelling early into the second half. The match took a dramatic turn in the 78th minute when Mario Maloca from Lechia Gdańsk was sent off for a foul and setting up a nail biting end of normal time.
First Lechia scored in the 86th minute, only for Cracovia to level again in the 88th minute and setting the game up for extra time. But it was all over in the 117th minute when Cracovia’s Mateusz Wdowiak scored the winning goal and leading to wild celebrations as Cracovia lifted their first Polish Football cup title in their history.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today there will be sunny intervals and scattered clouds with a moderate breeze and temperatures reaching 21 degrees centigrade (70 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to 12 degrees centigrade overnight. Sunday will be warmer, with rain showers spreading in the afternoon and evening and temperatures reaching 25 degrees centigrade during the day in a light breeze, and a pleasant 15 degrees overnight.
