On 21 December 2021, in the Sejm, the deputies of the Foreign Affairs Committee met with the former President of Ukraine and currently MP and head of one of the largest opposition parties (European Solidarity) in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mr. Petro Poroshenko. The discussion concerned the situation in the region and in Ukraine in the context of increasing pressure on Ukraine from Russia, the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian-Russian border and the related threat of escalation of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine.
The chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, deputy Marek Kuchciński argued that he would make every effort to ensure that Poland's support for Ukraine was visible not only at the governmental level, but also in the dimension of parliamentary diplomacy. An opportunity for this will be, among others, meetings planned at the beginning of the year with Ukrainian parliamentarians and the next edition of the conference from the Carpathian Europe series, which will take place in February in Krasiczyn and Przemyśl.
He assured of Polish support and solidarity with Ukraine in the face of Russian pressure, and that Poland will continue to support Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic ambitions, both politically and practically. Poland takes very seriously the ongoing attempts by Russia and its Belarusian ally to destabilize the security situation in Europe. He stated that Russia must be aware of the high costs it will incur if hostile actions escalate. According to the President, Russia's proposals for "security guarantees," including blocking Ukraine's NATO membership, are unacceptable.
Petro Poroshenko thanked for the reception at the Sejm and for the expressions of solidarity. He also expressed gratitude to President Andrzej Duda for his strong and positive words of support for Ukraine, delivered the previous day at his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski, during the Lublin Triangle Summit. President Poroshenko expressed his belief that Ukraine's current situation is significantly different from that of 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and gave armed support to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Currently, Ukraine has a strong army, which will not remain idle in case of escalation of military actions by Russia. He stressed that today one cannot talk about a possible new Russian aggression, but only about the continuation of the already ongoing one. According to Poroshenko, Ukraine's policy regarding Russian aggression should be based on three pillars, which he described as "3D": diplomacy, de-escalation and de-occupation. He called for the application of sanctions against Russia already at the current stage, so as to prevent President Putin from making the disastrous decision to escalate the conflict, for which the price would be paid not only by Ukraine and Russia, but by the whole and Europe. Mr. Poroshenko also pointed out the need for NATO to take steps towards rapprochement with Ukraine, including granting Ukraine a Membership Action Plan (MAP) as soon as possible. He also pointed out that Europe should verify its energy policy in order to prevent dependence on the supply of Russian resources, including, above all, suspension of the second line of Nord Stream gas pipeline. Furthermore, Mr. Poproshenko thanked for the support Poland and the European Union have shown so far for the internal reforms in Ukraine.
On the Polish side, the meeting was attended by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Marek Kuchcinski, deputy chairman Paweł Kowal, and committee member Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski.
Photo: Marta Olejnik/ KS
