In a recent interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Polish Ambassador to London Piotr Wilczek summed up his first year in office by underlining how Polish-British relations have flourished in the last year.   

It was indeed quite a year for Poland’s (relatively) new Ambassador to London. 2022 started with what was to be a political earthquake, namely the Russian invasion of mainland Ukraine. In Britain itself, the political stage witnessed a series of significant events. The UK has had two new Prime Ministers in quick succession and, on top of that, lost its beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Nevertheless, these troubled times didn’t prevent Poland and the UK from reinforcing their bilateral bonds in several ways.

Since February, assistance to the Ukrainian people and attempts at containing Russia have represented the absolute priorities of Warsaw’s foreign policy. Piotr Wilczek told PAP that he always knew he would find key partners in the Brits to approach this crisis.

He stressed that Brits have had a realistic approach regarding Russia and were well aware of what Putin’s criminal regime is capable of. The poisoning of Sergey Skripal and the murder of Alexander Litvinenko are just a few good examples of that. 

Ambassador Wilczek reminded PAP of the intensification of meetings between Polish and British officials in the last year and of the trilateral format of cooperation that was launched between London, Warsaw, and Kyiv with the aim of facilitating the coordination of assistance to war-torn Ukraine and preparing the ground for its rebuilding process. 

“Poland is a key ally for Britain […] because it’s the closest to Ukraine […] it became sort of an aid hub, and a lot of British aid passes through our country”, – Wilczek explained. 

Ambassador Wilczek also stressed that the Polish diaspora is particularly well-integrated and successful in British society. To illustrate this, he drew attention to several initiatives, such as the Social & Cultural Association, the Polish Hearth Club, the Sikorski Institute, and the Polish After School Club, among others. 

Image: gov.pl

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen