Poland could end up ‘joining’ Ukraine conflict – diplomat – Reuters
Warsaw will have “no choice” but to participate in hostilities if kyiv fails to defend its “independence”, the country’s envoy to France has said.
Poland could end “join” the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine if the latter fails to protect its “independence,” said Polish Ambassador to France Jan Emeryk Rosciszewski. The top diplomat made the remarks on Saturday while speaking live to the LCI television channel.
Rosciszewski squarely blamed the hostilities, which have already lasted more than a year, on Moscow, saying he was “not NATO, not Poland, not France and not Slovakia” which increased international tensions, but Russia. According to the diplomat, the situation is currently “Either Ukraine will successfully defend its independence, or we will be forced, in any case, to join this conflict.”
“Otherwise, our main values, which are the basis of our civilization and our culture, will be in fundamental danger, so we will have no choice,” he added. said Rosciszewski.
The warmongering statement quickly made international headlines, prompting the Polish mission in France to give more details about the remarks made by its leader. According to a message released by the embassy on Sunday, Rosciszewski’s comments were not in fact an admission that Warsaw was ready to go to war with Russia, but simply a “warning” and a promise to continue supporting Kyiv.
“A careful listening to the whole conversation allows us to understand that there was no announcement of the direct involvement of Poland in the conflict, but only a warning of the consequences of the defeat of Poland. ‘Ukraine – the possibility of Russia attacking or dragging into the war more Central European countries – the Baltic states and Poland’, read the statement. The embassy also condemned the so-called “sensational” reporting on the explosive interview, suggesting that some unidentified media may have acted in “maliciousness”.
The remarks were poorly received in Moscow, with a top Russian senator, Alexey Pushkov, warning Warsaw of the potential consequences and questioning its alleged determination to fight Russia on its own.
“A very presumptuous statement by the Polish ambassador in Paris. For the first time, an official representative of Poland has said what its leaders have long had in mind. However, all the “courage” of the Poles rests on the support of the United States. Is Warsaw sure that Washington is ready to fight? Pushkov said in a Telegram article.
Poland has been among kyiv’s most active supporters in hostilities against Russia, sending various military equipment, including tanks and artillery, to support Ukraine. Apart from that, Polish mercenaries were directly involved in the conflict in significant numbers, according to Moscow. Warsaw also announced its own major military build-up, seeking to greatly expand the ranks of its armed forces and procure large quantities of modern military hardware from abroad.
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