<p class="title">President Vladimir Putin upped the ante in a war of words with Europe on Tuesday, accusing Poland of colluding with Hitler and of anti-Semitism.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tensions are running high between Moscow and Warsaw, with NATO and EU member Poland fearing what it has described as Russian military adventurism and imperialist tendencies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to military top brass and using bad language at one point, Putin said that Poland was in cahoots with Hitler during World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Essentially they colluded with Hitler. This is clear from documents, archival documents," Putin said in an emotional end-of-year speech at the defence ministry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Resorting to bad language, Putin said a war-time Polish ambassador allegedly promised to put up a statue of Hitler in Warsaw for his pledges to send Jews to Africa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A bastard, an anti-Semitic pig, you cannot put it any other way," Putin said, referring to what he said were the diaries of the Polish ambassador in Germany.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He expressed full solidarity with Hitler in his anti-Semitic views," the Russian leader said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He slammed what he called attempts to erase the memory of Soviet victory in countries in Moscow's former sphere of influence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is people like those who negotiated with Hitler -- it is people like that who today are tearing down monuments to the liberating warriors, the Red Army soldiers who freed Europe and the European people from the Nazis," Putin fumed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Little has changed and we should take this into account when we build our armed forces, among other things."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia is developing state-of-the-art weapons and is no longer playing a game of catch-up with the West, Putin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is a unique situation in our modern history: they are playing catch-up with us," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He once again lashed out at the European Parliament over a resolution it passed in September urging Russia to come to terms with its Stalinist totalitarian past, saying it had lacked the same scrutiny as Nazi crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Russian leader called this "complete nonsense," saying it was wrong to equate Hitler's Germany with the Soviet Union.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the weekend, Poland expressed "concern and disbelief" over recent statements by Putin and top Russian officials on World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Warsaw criticised Moscow for "renewing Stalinist propaganda" and "wasting" reconciliation efforts to improve ties.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week, Putin blamed the Western powers and Poland for World War II, pointing to various treaties signed with Nazi Germany before the conflict began in 1939.</p>
<p class="title">President Vladimir Putin upped the ante in a war of words with Europe on Tuesday, accusing Poland of colluding with Hitler and of anti-Semitism.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tensions are running high between Moscow and Warsaw, with NATO and EU member Poland fearing what it has described as Russian military adventurism and imperialist tendencies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaking to military top brass and using bad language at one point, Putin said that Poland was in cahoots with Hitler during World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Essentially they colluded with Hitler. This is clear from documents, archival documents," Putin said in an emotional end-of-year speech at the defence ministry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Resorting to bad language, Putin said a war-time Polish ambassador allegedly promised to put up a statue of Hitler in Warsaw for his pledges to send Jews to Africa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A bastard, an anti-Semitic pig, you cannot put it any other way," Putin said, referring to what he said were the diaries of the Polish ambassador in Germany.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He expressed full solidarity with Hitler in his anti-Semitic views," the Russian leader said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He slammed what he called attempts to erase the memory of Soviet victory in countries in Moscow's former sphere of influence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is people like those who negotiated with Hitler -- it is people like that who today are tearing down monuments to the liberating warriors, the Red Army soldiers who freed Europe and the European people from the Nazis," Putin fumed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Little has changed and we should take this into account when we build our armed forces, among other things."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia is developing state-of-the-art weapons and is no longer playing a game of catch-up with the West, Putin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is a unique situation in our modern history: they are playing catch-up with us," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He once again lashed out at the European Parliament over a resolution it passed in September urging Russia to come to terms with its Stalinist totalitarian past, saying it had lacked the same scrutiny as Nazi crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Russian leader called this "complete nonsense," saying it was wrong to equate Hitler's Germany with the Soviet Union.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the weekend, Poland expressed "concern and disbelief" over recent statements by Putin and top Russian officials on World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Warsaw criticised Moscow for "renewing Stalinist propaganda" and "wasting" reconciliation efforts to improve ties.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week, Putin blamed the Western powers and Poland for World War II, pointing to various treaties signed with Nazi Germany before the conflict began in 1939.</p>