Yesterday, the head of Polish diplomacy began a four-day visit to the UK. On that day, he met with Foreign Minister David Lammy. At a press briefing, he stressed that he also spoke with the British Prime Minister’s security adviser Johnathan Powell.

“The Polish-British relations are flourishing, just as Polish-British trade is flourishing. Our compatriots here are demanding that the Polish language be taught in British schools, I put the case. But, of course, the main topics(talks) were international security, the war in Ukraine, and EU-British and Polish-British security cooperation. Poland and the UK are close allies and we agreed on further initiatives,” Minister Radosław Sikorski said.

He added that this was still to be confirmed, but Lammy welcomed the invitation to the EU foreign ministers meeting in Warsaw on 7 May.

Sikorski said that the Polish presidency in the Council of the European Union is seeking ways to institutionalise the EU-UK cooperation in the field of defence industries, defence itself and security against terrorism.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding to questions about the war in Ukraine and possible plans to involve Western allies in a peacekeeping mission, stressed that “Poland intends to take part in the operation, but not on Ukrainian territory”.

“What Poland gives to NATO is the defence of the key territory of the Alliance, which is located at our borders. We are an irreplaceable logistical hub that needs to be covered from the side of Belarus and the side of Russia, so we see our role here and it is very good that the generals are talking about this so that Putin understands that firstly, it will not be him who decides what troops will be deployed in Ukraine, but Ukraine. And secondly, that we are preparing for this from the side of military feasibility,” Sikorski said.

Minister Sikorski also delivered a lecture titled “War and Diplomacy in the 21st Century: Lessons from Ukraine” at the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Sikorski also participated in an interview for SkyNews in which he said Donald Trump is giving Vladimir Putin a chance to pull out of the war, but if he does not take that chance, the US president could tighten sanctions and increase support for Ukraine.

“And we wish him success, which we define as a just peace. Not just a ceasefire, but a just, long-lasting peace for Ukraine,” Sikorski said. 

Source: PAP

Photo: @sikorskiradek

Tomasz Modrzejewski