Citizens’ Parliamentary Party and the situation in Lithuania in the years 1989-1991 in the light of the documents from the Senate Archive and Sejm Library

In the years 1990–1991 Poland adopted a two-track policy in relations with the Soviet Union, which were based on treating the USSR and its republics as separate entities. Under this policy, MPs of the Citizens’ Parliamentary Party (OKP) played an active role in maintaining contacts with Lithuanian MPs from Sajudis, whom they treated as natural partners because the political views were similar on both sides. Members of OKP consistently and unconditionally supported Lithuania’s aspirations to independence and did not condition their support on guarantees of rights for the Polish minority. They took numerous trips to Lithuania, and in January 1991 they created a metaphorical bridge between Warsaw and Vilnius, signing petitions demonstrating solidarity with the Lithuanian struggle for independence. At the same time, however, they treated Lithuanian authorities with increasing reserve due to the dispute over the rights of the Polish minority and the rise of anti-Polish sentiment in Lithuania, which was in line with the policy pursued by Skubiszewski