On the eve of his visit to Moscow, Rau said that "Poland supplies Kiev with only defensive weapons in accordance with the fundamental principles of international law."
Moscow. February 15th. INTERFAX - Polish Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau expects to discuss the situation around Ukraine and issues related to the OSCE during his visit to Moscow.
In an interview with Interfax on the eve of his visit, he said: "This is the first visit of the Polish Foreign Minister to Russia in many years and it takes place in connection with the Polish chairmanship in the OSCE. It is the OSCE issues that are the main subject of discussion."
"Of course, I hope to discuss with Minister Sergey Lavrov the situation related to the crisis around Ukraine and the Polish initiative of the Renewed dialogue on European Security. I believe that our conversations will be constructive and will be held in the spirit of mutual respect," Rau said.
"However, I would like to emphasize that in such a difficult political situation, our duty is to maintain communication channels and contacts, especially the most natural ones - interpersonal, cultural, business and scientific," the Polish minister said.
Commenting, in particular, on the possibility of deploying American missile defense systems and American forces on Polish territory, Rau said that "since the end of the Cold War, Poland has sought to maintain good-neighborly relations with Russia, respecting its sovereignty and importance in the international arena."
"We have no reason to threaten Russia or make territorial claims to it. The alliances we conclude are aimed at ensuring the best protection of Poland and Poles. The presence of troops of other NATO countries on our territory is an expression of their solidarity with Poland and a confirmation of the indivisibility of the security of all members of the North Atlantic Alliance," the Polish Foreign Minister said.
Answering the question about how Warsaw's arms supplies to Kiev correlate with calls for de-escalation of the situation around Ukraine, Rau said: "I want to emphasize that the equipment transferred to Ukraine serves defensive purposes and is a reaction to the deterioration of the security situation around this country."
"The support provided to the state, which, in accordance with the fundamental principles of international law, seeks to protect its territorial integrity, is also an expression of our respect for the architecture of European security based on international principles and obligations," he stressed.
