Russia backtracks from accusations at Poland claiming the country started World War II

Russia's ambassador to Poland said he regrests he 'wasn't sufficiently precise'

Red Army troops storm a building, and German prisoners, below, during the Battle of Stalingrad (Getty Images)

Russia's ambassador to Poland has partly backtracked from an accusation that Poland bears some blame for starting World War II because of its policies in the 1930s, words that outraged Poles.

Sergey Andreev said he had no intention of offending the Polish nation and added: "I regret that I wasn't sufficiently precise."

He spoke to reporters after being summoned to the Foreign Ministry following comments in a TV interview Friday that sparked the uproar.

World War II began after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sealed a secret pact in 1939 to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. Millions of Polish citizens died in the conflict.

Andreev on Friday described Soviet actions as an act of self-defense, not aggression.

AP