WARSAW Poland got a new foreign minister when power changed in the country’s parliamentary elections last fall. Now the world’s media are quoting Radosław Sikorski almost daily, and no wonder.
Sikorski is known as an outspoken politician who has a messaging service In X, over a million follower.
This is how he responded last Sunday Papal to the talk that Ukraine should have “the courage to give up and raise the white flag to the ban”:
– What if, for the sake of balance, you encouraged me Putin withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would come immediately without the need for negotiations, Sikorski wrote.
Just a couple of weeks before he blurted out From Russia’s UN ambassador in New York.
On Thursday, Sikorski will arrive in Finland for a visit from the United States, where he was celebrating Poland’s 25th anniversary in NATO. interviewed Sikorski in Warsaw before his visit to Finland. Read the three main points of the interview here.
1. Cheers for Macron’s opening
One of the hottest topics about the war in Ukraine recently has been the French president Emmanuel Macron opening of European troops in Ukraine. The leading politicians of many countries rejected Macron’s speeches, the Poles did not. In Sikorski’s opinion, Macron’s opening was welcome also because it forces the Russians to think about what the West really intends.
– Putin should have to guess our movements, not the other way around, says Sikorski in an interview with .
Sikorski too confirmed over the weekendthat NATO troops are already operating in Ukraine.
Sikorski does not answer directly whether Poland would be ready to send its troops to Ukraine. He refers to the difficult history that Polish-Ukrainian relations have.
– This is difficult because there is a lot of history between Poland and Ukraine. We would not like to feed Russian propaganda, says Sikorski.
According to Sikorski, Europe should not hinder itself, but redeem the talks it has heard over the past two years about supporting Ukraine.
– When we say that we will do everything we can to restore international order, actions should be followed, says Sikorski.
Sikorski reminds that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has been condemned by an overwhelming majority at the UN.
– It creates an obligation for the international community to take countermeasures against Russia.
2. Ukraine already won at sea
In recent months, the border between Poland and Ukraine has been strained by the protests of Polish farmers and truck drivers on the border between the two countries. The EU allowed Ukrainian grain free access to the internal market after Russia bombed Ukrainian grain ports and blocked the free movement of shipping. According to Polish farmers, Ukrainian grain has distorted competition.
Sikorski defends farmers.
– The EU opened its borders to Ukrainian grain when Putin blocked grain shipments in the Black Sea. But Ukraine has won in the Western Black Sea! Sikorski exclaims.
According to him, the EU should now put back the pre-war restrictions on Ukrainian grain.
3. Europe’s two options
The relations between Poland and the United States are very close, and perhaps that circumstance is apt to increase the courage of the foreign minister of the partner country to speak out. Sikorski reviewed late President of the United States Congress Mike Johnson in very words.
Sikorski also pointed out when he visited the United States a couple of weeks ago that up to 90 percent The money directed to Ukraine remains in the United States.
President Joe Biden the administration presented a massive aid package for Ukraine already in October 2023, but it still hasn’t been approved by the US Congress. A delay in aid could be fatal for Ukraine.
Now, in an interview with , Sikorski says directly that the stalling of the gigantic US arms aid package seems to lead to the former US president to Donald Trump.
– Yes, I believe he is behind this, Sikorski says.
Watch Sikorski’s Trump statement in the video:
Trump’s lack of support for Ukraine was further confirmed when the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán claimed that Trump had said that the United States would not give Ukraine “a penny” if Trump was elected president.
But what does Sikorski think about Trump possibly becoming US president again? Trump recently hinted that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries if they do not invest enough in their defense.
Sikorski answers the question, placing his words precisely.
– We have good relations with the United States, regardless of who is in power. President Trump actually visited Poland, and I remind you that he supplied Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine even before the war, the Polish foreign minister replies.
He also reminds that the US support for Ukraine is irreplaceable economically and militarily.
However, according to Sikorski, Europe must be ready to defend itself in the future.
– We have to become more independent. A European defense policy worthy of its name must be created.
According to him, the European Union currently has two ways to help Ukraine. The second is various coalitions that collect money to bring ammunition to Ukraine from abroad.
– Then there is the European Peace Fund, which must be supplemented with five billion euros. I hope we can reach an agreement on this soon, says Sikorski.