In a recent interview with the Latvian public broadcaster, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski emphasized that Vladimir Putin has underestimated Ukraine’s readiness to resist aggression and the determination of democratic countries to help the struggling country.
“We are peace-loving democracies. We would actually like to be left to ourselves. We have no aggressive designs against anybody because we are happy within our own borders, right? Whereas Russia is a revisionist power which is unhappy with its borders and wants to rebuild the empire,” said the minister.
“Our leaders have been saying, ‘we don’t want war; we just want to maintain the rules’, but what we see as maintaining some kind of rules-based order, Putin sees as weakness,” he continued.
“And so he sees us limiting ourselves in our options. And what I see President Macron doing is signaling to Putin that we can also do something that you don't expect, and I share the spirit of that,” Sikorski emphasized.
Polish FM, when asked if, in his opinion, behind President Macron’s words hides his actual readiness to act on them, said: “Ukraine is a victim of aggression. It’s a democratic country; it has the right to invite people to help them defend themselves from an act of aggression.”
“We are still a defensive alliance, and the best proof that Putin understands that NATO is not a threat to him is that he has removed troops from the neighborhood of Latvia and, for example, from the Kaliningrad exclave,” Sikorski emphasized.
“He’s put everything he’s got against Ukraine. (...) I don’t think that when he was preparing to launch this war, he expected us to send arms to Ukraine or impose effective sanctions on Russia. He has underestimated the resilience of democracies, and he continues to underestimate it,” he continued.
The Polish FM was also asked for his opinion on Western support for Ukraine and whether it is enough.
“Poland is an indispensable logistical hub. The great majority of the ammunition that goes to help Ukraine goes through Poland. And I can tell you it’s still going to Ukraine. So, yes, Ukraine needs more. And we’ve joined the Czech ammunition initiative, and there is the European peace facility. And then there are bilateral programs. They all go through Poland. And of course, the American package is badly needed, but it’s not as if nothing is going through,” Sikorski said.
And added, “As we agreed with Latvia’s foreign minister, if everybody else did what Poland and Latvia are doing, Ukraine would be in a better position than it is today.”
Watch the full interview conducted by the Latvijas Televīzija below:
“Our leaders have been saying, ‘we don’t want war; we just want to maintain the rules’, but what we see as maintaining some kind of rules-based order, Putin sees as weakness,” he continued.
“And so he sees us limiting ourselves in our options. And what I see President Macron doing is signaling to Putin that we can also do something that you don't expect, and I share the spirit of that,” Sikorski emphasized.
Polish FM, when asked if, in his opinion, behind President Macron’s words hides his actual readiness to act on them, said: “Ukraine is a victim of aggression. It’s a democratic country; it has the right to invite people to help them defend themselves from an act of aggression.”
“We are still a defensive alliance, and the best proof that Putin understands that NATO is not a threat to him is that he has removed troops from the neighborhood of Latvia and, for example, from the Kaliningrad exclave,” Sikorski emphasized.
“He’s put everything he’s got against Ukraine. (...) I don’t think that when he was preparing to launch this war, he expected us to send arms to Ukraine or impose effective sanctions on Russia. He has underestimated the resilience of democracies, and he continues to underestimate it,” he continued.
The Polish FM was also asked for his opinion on Western support for Ukraine and whether it is enough.
“Poland is an indispensable logistical hub. The great majority of the ammunition that goes to help Ukraine goes through Poland. And I can tell you it’s still going to Ukraine. So, yes, Ukraine needs more. And we’ve joined the Czech ammunition initiative, and there is the European peace facility. And then there are bilateral programs. They all go through Poland. And of course, the American package is badly needed, but it’s not as if nothing is going through,” Sikorski said.
And added, “As we agreed with Latvia’s foreign minister, if everybody else did what Poland and Latvia are doing, Ukraine would be in a better position than it is today.”
Watch the full interview conducted by the Latvijas Televīzija below:
Source: LATVIJAS TELEVIZIJA, EBU
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