Different chaotic and panicked interpretations of statements by Polish politicians and diplomats about our strategy towards the war in Ukraine that appear every now and then require order and constant emphasis on fundamental matters for us. Many threads also need to be summarized, renamed, read more than a year after the beginning of the barbaric Russian invasion of Ukraine. Especially since there is an intense debate going on about what to do next in the European Union and the United States. How to find the necessary reserves, forces? How to increase the aid effort? What does victory mean?
Some statements are disturbing.
It is difficult to make a serious prediction about the further course of this terrible war. Germany will provide political, humanitarian, financial and armament support to Ukraine for as long as necessary. Ukraine is courageously defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia must recognize this and realize that it cannot take large parts of Ukraine by force.
– said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a recent interview for the daily newspaper Handelsblatt.
Note: “Russia cannot take much of Ukraine by force.”
So which part can?
In a slightly earlier speech in the Bundestag, on the anniversary of the start of the war, Scholz said that “there are no negotiations with a gun to the temple” and “no peace talks will be held over the heads of Ukrainians”, but at the same time, the facts are disturbing.
We wrote in “Sieci” about how Germany is all about helping Ukraine, and even the German press and the opposition emphasize that the defense budget of our neighboring countries has fallen in 2023! And this despite the announcement to spend two percent of gross domestic product on defense.
Of the 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr, only 600 million has been spent
That is what Friedrich Merz, head of the CDU, said in the same debate in the German parliament.
All this puts the slogan “Zeitenwende” (turning point) as the German response to the Russian invasion in question.
And it requires vigilance on the part of nations directly threatened by Russian imperial policies – including Poland.
Hence the decision to deliver an important speech by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the University of Heidelberg. More precisely, it will be a lecture entitled ‘Europe at a historic turning point’.
As announced by government spokesman Piotr Müller, Prime Minister Morawiecki will raise the issue of the importance of European values in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to unofficial information, the Polish Prime Minister’s speech will be addressed to the German and European elites. The aim is to determine the Polish position on the ongoing war, on Ukraine’s sovereignty and on the conditions for conducting peace talks.
We can expect a call from the West to step up efforts to break artificial red lines. After all, these had to be deliveries of tanks or aircraft. In both cases, Warsaw has successfully broken powerlessness, building or is building coalitions willing to provide such assistance.
It is also true that the long-term submissive, exclusively German attitude towards Russia, and subsequently the silent expectation of the fall of Kiev, have undermined the foundations of European confidence. In Warsaw we already know that European alliances can work, but above all we need an army capable of deterring or stopping the aggressor.
Given this, as well as Poland’s leading role in organizing resistance to Putin’s attack, Heidelberg University will be where the eyes of opinion formers will be focused today.
The premiere of the lecture starts at 11:00 am, we will keep you informed of the progress.
Source: wPolityce