WARSAW (Reuters) – The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador on Thursday about the actions of a television station, it said in a statement without naming the station or specifying what it believes it did wrong.
Poland has previously been at odds with the United States over Discovery-owned news channel TVN24, which is critical of the government.
TVN24 recently contributed to stirring a heated debate in Poland by airing a documentary alleging late John Paul II knew about sexual abuses by Catholic clergy before becoming pope.
It was not immediately clear if the issue the U.S. ambassador was summoned over concerned TVN24. The U.S. embassy in Warsaw had no immediate comment.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes that the potential effects of these actions are identical to the goals of the hybrid war aimed at leading to divisions and tensions in Polish society,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. Ambassador to inform him about the situation and its consequences in weakening the ability of the Republic of Poland to deter a potential adversary and its resistance to threats.”
A Polish foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment further.
In 2021, Poland’s president vetoed a media bill that critics said was aimed at silencing TVN24, citing worries about the strain the law would put on relations with Washington.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Marek Strzelecki, Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Nick Macfie)