President of Poland Andrzej Duda has stated the need to end the war in Ukraine with a just and lasting peace and emphasized the importance of transatlantic ties, the Polish President’s Office reports.
“Every day we bear the risks of war on our shoulders. The war in Ukraine must end. It must end in a just and lasting peace. Maintaining ties between the United States and Europe is fundamental,” Duda said.
He expressed doubt that increased aid to Ukraine from European countries would be able to compensate for the cessation of US aid, and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to return to talks with the US side on continued support.
“President Zelensky must return to the negotiating table at any cost and as soon as possible, because it is in his interest that Ukraine survives this war. In my opinion, Ukraine will not survive without the support of the United States,” the Polish president said.
According to him, there is nothing to indicate that Europe will change its behavior and provide large-scale assistance to Ukraine. “Perhaps the whole of Europe will radically change its previous behavior and suddenly stand firmly and unanimously against Russia and provide Ukraine with exceptionally large-scale assistance that will allow it to continue to defend and fight. Perhaps it will provide such assistance and Ukraine will not be conquered by Russia, and secondly, this war will end happily for Ukraine. However, after what Europe has done in this regard, there is absolutely nothing to indicate this. If anyone can force Russia to end the war, it is the United States of America,” the president said.
Duda is also convinced that if an agreement is concluded between the US and Ukraine on minerals, “Ukraine will become strategic for the interests of the United States, and I am convinced that they will protect it.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda calls it a good decision to maintain the ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market, while announcing his intention to increase its transit through Poland to help Ukraine and countries that need this grain, the Presidential Office’s X (formerly Twitter) reported on Sunday.
“I believe it is the right decision that the Polish government has maintained the ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market. However, it is necessary to do everything possible to ensure that transit is as high as possible,” Duda said in a commentary to the Polish TV channel TVP1.
According to him, transit corridors have already been prepared in Poland, thanks to which Ukrainian grain can travel through the territory of Poland and be exported to where it is needed. “We are trying to help Ukraine and those countries that need this assistance,” the Polish President emphasized.
“Thanks to the work of our farmers, we are self-sufficient. We do not need grain from Ukraine. Their excellent harvests during the war almost did not reach the countries that really needed them,” Duda said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda will address the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Sunday, the press service of the Polish head of state reports.
“President Andrzej Duda is in Ukraine. On Sunday, in the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, the President of the Republic of Poland will deliver a message as the first foreign head of state since the beginning of the war,” the Polish president’s website said in a statement.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva notes that during the visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda to Ukraine on October 12-13, considerable emphasis will be placed on economic cooperation between the two countries, in particular, in the development of infrastructure.
“The President of Poland will visit not only Kyiv, but together with President Zelensky will visit Odesa, where a separate business event will be held, which will be aimed at infrastructure topics. A number of agreements will be signed, in particular, on our maritime infrastructure,” he said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
Zhovkva pointed out that the topic of Ukrainian-Polish relations is expanding to the sphere of economics. “We are talking not only about politics, about the historical past, which, of course, will be discussed during the visit, but also about our economic relations. After all, Poland is one of our largest partners in Europe in terms of trade,” he said.
The deputy head of the President’s Office recalled that the visit of Polish President Duda to Ukraine was planned in the spring of 2020, and it is very important, because for the first time in the past three years, the President of Poland is visiting Ukraine. In 2017, Duda was in Kharkiv, and he was in Kyiv the last time in 2016.
