Maybe, there is still hope. Finally, the media in Poland allowed some sane people to speak.
Interview with Polish Ambassador to Russia:
Let me show you, I have saved on my calendar - March 10, at 15 director Nechayev, the Russian Foreign Ministry.
I visited him with Mr. Cyganowski, the head of protocol of our embassy. Nechayev strongly discouraged us from using the airport in Smolensk. He said that it was closed for several months and that the [air force] regiment that was taking care of it was disbanded. He suggested that we chose a different airport. Such a conversation is usually reported through a telegram with the heading "secret" or "confidential." I decided, however, that Nechayev raised the issue a broader public should know about. I sent to Warsaw a large one and a half page clarification of the issue.
So, how do we expect the (insert expletive) to listen to the ATC or pilots if they did not listen to our own Ambassador even????
Do you know what was worst in that horrible disaster? That the Russians, I do not remember exactly when, but they asked us whether we wanted the assistance of their navigators, who would help our pilots in the landing. W sent this question to Warsaw. The reply was: NO.
Was it about money?
- I do not know.
I guess, this could only mean that our ambassador must be a KGB agent
. The official line from Warsaw today is that Russians did not want to provide the navigator (aka leader).