I’m less interested in what Donald Trump says because we’ve all become accustomed to his eccentric statements; I am more interested in what Trump is doing, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told TVP Info on Thursday.
When asked whether a new attack by Russia was possible, the head of the Foreign Ministry replied:
If that were not possible, there would be no need for the Polish army and the North Atlantic Alliance. We have been mobilizing Europe for a long time, but only now are they starting to listen. Better late than never
– added the minister.
When asked whether the leaders of Germany and France do not believe it is possible to reach an agreement with Vladimir Putin, Sikorski noted: “I don’t think anyone believes a notorious liar anymore.”
The head of Polish diplomacy also commented on former US President Donald Trump’s statement that he will not protect NATO members who do not fulfill their financial obligations to Russia.
If what the nationalist camp assured us is true, namely that they have a special relationship with Trump, then this is the time to use it, to do something good for Ukraine, for Poland and the Trumpists, the presidential candidate Trump and especially the to influence the chairman of the House of Representatives. House of Representatives Mike Johnson is set to vote on the bill that would launch the Ukraine aid package
– said Sikorski.
This is a test for our nationalists as to whether they really have this influence
– added the minister.
I’m less interested in what Trump says because we’ve all become accustomed to his eccentric statements. I’m more interested in what Trump is doing
– emphasized Radosław Sikorski.
And he was the one who told House Republicans to block the Ukraine package
– he noted.
On Tuesday, the US Senate passed an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan worth a total of $95 billion.
The bill was passed by the Senate after long negotiations and must now be voted on by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. The proposal’s chances of passage are uncertain because it is opposed by the radical wing of the Republican Party allied with Trump, which is vying for the party’s nomination before November’s presidential election.
‘Germany has a moral debt’
Germany admits that it owes a moral debt to Poland. We are trying to ensure that this feeling of guilt has a material expression, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, told TVP Info on Thursday.
Germany admits that it owes a moral debt to Poland. We strive to ensure that this sense of guilt finds its material expression. Since PiS has not solved anything for eight years, we think that the Germans now have to figure out how to restore moral order, restore the Poles’ feeling that the Germans are sorry and want to do something about it.
– said the head of Polish diplomacy.
He noted that Poland:
At the end of the Second World War, reparations had already been granted in the Potsdam Treaty, namely 15 percent. Soviet assignment. What did the Soviets do? They’ve always taken what they’ve always done. I would like to know why the PiS government has not asked Russia, as successor to the Soviet Union, for these reparations
– said Sikorski.
He added that “if PiS politicians believed in reparations, the word reparations would have appeared in the note they sent to the German government, but this word does not appear there.”
On September 1, 2022, a report was presented on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II. On October 3, 2022, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the PiS government, Zbigniew Rau, signed a diplomatic note on the German side on war compensation. Poland is demanding, among other things, compensation for material and intangible losses amounting to PLN 6 trillion, PLN 220 billion, PLN 609 million and compensation for damages.
On January 3, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs had responded to this note. According to the German government, the issue of reparations and compensation for war losses remains closed and the German government has no intention of starting negotiations on this matter.
On Monday, during his visit to Berlin, Prime Minister Donald Tusk was asked about the issue of reparations during a joint meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He said the word “reparations” did not appear in the note sent by the previous Polish government to the German government and that it referred to “some kind of compensation.”
He emphasized that “in a formal, legal and international sense, the issue of reparations was closed many years ago.”
The issue of moral, financial and material compensation has never been implemented – not through Chancellor Scholz’s fault and not through my fault. This is always a good topic for a good conversation, but unlike my predecessors, I will work with Chancellor Scholz to look for forms of cooperation that will not turn the past into a fate that would put pressure on our relations.
– said Tusk.
On Tuesday, PiS President Jarosław Kaczyński said at a press conference, referring to the prime minister’s statement, that this was harmful to “Poland’s fundamental interests.” He added that it is about the compensation itself as well as “our status, and not just political status, but you could also say cultural status.”
European defense
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, stated that he supports the idea of building a European defense. He emphasized that the country must develop in strategic harmony with the US; Americans themselves also support its creation. As Sikorski emphasized, it would merely supplement national armies.
When the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked on TVP Info on Thursday whether he thought there should be a European army, he replied that he avoided the term because it suggested the merger of national armies. He explained that he preferred to use the term “European defence” in this context.
I am in favor of building a strong brigade, which I once called a legion
– he emphasized.
Sikorski emphasized that he also supports the creation of the largest possible European defense budget.
It already exists, it was adopted thanks to Brexit. It should have been twelve billion euros, but we spent seven billion of it. This year we need 5 billion euros. This money could be used to finance acquisitions and European capabilities, in addition to national armies
– explained the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When asked whether such actions were not – as the opposition says – an attempt to drive the United States out of Europe, he replied briefly:
This is nonsense.
Sikorski emphasized that the Americans themselves want to build up European defense capabilities.
In my previous role, as head of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States, I was at the Pentagon. Top officials have told me that we need a European defense capability because there may come a time when the US will be involved elsewhere
– he said.
European defense is an idea whose time has come. It must of course develop in strategic harmony with the US, but as a European defense in those issues where NATO and the US may be unwilling or unable to intervene
– Sikorski summed it up.
The reflection of the Polish woman in Chad
The Chadian army and police took effective action and the kidnappers were eliminated – the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, told TVP Info on Thursday, referring to the release of a Polish doctor kidnapped in Chad. “There was no ransom,” he added.
On Thursday, the head of Polish diplomacy was asked about the background of the operation to release a Polish doctor kidnapped in Chad. “Yesterday I thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chad. The Chadian army and police carried out an effective action and the kidnappers were eliminated,” the head of Polish diplomacy emphasized.
When asked if the Polish doctor had been rescued and no one had paid the ransom, Sikorski confirmed that “there was no ransom.”
The AFP agency reported on Sunday the kidnapping of a Polish volunteer doctor from the Saint-Michel hospital in Dono Manga, run by the international Catholic humanitarian organization Caritas. Dono Manga is located more than 400 km southeast of the capital N’Djamena.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attackers posed as patients, and as far as is known the kidnapping was “more criminal in nature.” He stressed that the ministry was in constant contact with the kidnapped woman’s family. Poland’s Foreign Ministry also announced on Monday that Chadian and French forces took part in the intensive search operation, which was supervised on the ground by Security Minister Mahamat Charfadine Margui.
On Tuesday evening, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced the release of a Polish doctor whose kidnapping from Saint-Michel Hospital in Dono Manga, Chad, was reported by AFP on Sunday.
She is safe and sound, which I informed her relatives by phone. I would like to thank the local armed forces and our French allies for their actions
— wrote Sikorski on the X platform.
READ ALSO: Polish doctor kidnapped in Chad has already been released! Sikorski: I would like to thank the local forces and French allies for their actions
mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.