Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has sent a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the strength of the West and suggesting that Putin should carefully consider his next moves. The head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, currently in the United States, gave an interview to BBC World. Radosław Sikorski spoke about the threat to Poland from Russia and Vladimir Putin’s historical mistakes. He also addressed the words of Emmanuel Macron, who still does not rule out the presence of French soldiers in Ukraine.
When asked to what extent Russia poses a direct threat to Poland, the head of the Polish diplomacy replied that he did not believe President Vladimir Putin would be reckless enough to attack a NATO member state, but emphasized that he has proven reckless enough to attack Ukraine, and is now being recognized as a war criminal.
Sikorski, referring to the words of the French President Emmanuel Macron that he does not exclude anything when it comes to the presence of Western troops in Ukraine, assessed that it is appropriate to put Putin in a situation where he is not certain what the West will do, instead of excluding certain possibilities in advance.
Polish FM Asked whether Poland would consider sending its troops to Ukraine said: "We will not reveal our cards. Let Putin wonder what we will do. We spend the largest portion of our GDP on defense in NATO – 4%, and next year we may spend more" pic.twitter.com/KwrRIzMels
— Poland-24.com (@poland24com) May 4, 2024
Asked whether Poland would consider sending its troops, he said: “We will not reveal our cards. Let President Putin wonder what we will do.We spend the largest portion of our GDP on defense in NATO – 4 percent, and next year we may spend more” – Sikorski reminded.
Sikorski on American support for Ukraine
Radosław Sikorski expressed satisfaction with the fact that the American Congress had finally approved military aid for Ukraine. “Ukraine desperately needs anti-aircraft missiles to protect its industry, to protect its power plants, to protect its infrastructure. I think it is much better to spend money defending Ukraine than to have to rebuild it later,” Sikorski said.
“He admitted that it would have been better if the American aid act had been adopted earlier, but noted that the aid is already on its way. “I think President Putin would do well to recognize his invasion as a mistake and make a new calculation, taking into account that we will be helping Ukraine as long as necessary,” he said.
When will the war in Ukraine end?
The Polish Foreign Minister has stated that the war will only end when Putin realizes that the cost of continuing it, both in terms of human lives and financial expenses, outweighs the objective he is trying to achieve. However, he expressed that it might take some time for Putin to grasp this.
He also assessed that the European Union could do even more in terms of military aid for Ukraine, although he noted that the total value of EU financial aid for Ukraine is even higher than that of the United States.
