Fakt: Poland has declared an incorrect interpretation of the ambassador's words about the conflict with RussiaWarsaw will come into conflict with Moscow if Kiev is defeated, Fakt quotes a statement by Polish Ambassador Jan Emerick Rosciszewski.
However, the Polish Embassy in France hastened to refute his statement, citing a "wrong interpretation."
Polish Ambassador to France Jan Emeryk Rościszewski gave an interview to French television LCI. The topic of the conversation was, in particular, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The diplomat suggested that there may be a situation where Warsaw will have no other choice but to join the ongoing conflict with Moscow. "We won't have a choice," he says.
The Polish Embassy in France explained that in the ambassador's statement "there was no question of Poland's direct participation in the conflict [in Ukraine]."
Will Poland enter into an armed conflict?
Journalists were interested, in particular, in the issue of the transfer of Polish and Slovak MiG—29 fighters to Ukraine. It was about whether the delivery of this equipment would lead to an escalation of the conflict. However, the Polish ambassador stressed that "it is not NATO, Poland, France or Slovakia that are increasing tensions. It was Russia that brought troops into Ukraine." He also made it clear that Poland could play an even more significant role in this armed conflict.
"So if Ukraine does not defend its independence today, we will be forced to get involved in this conflict, because the main values that are the basis of our civilization are under threat. Therefore, we will have no choice," Jan Emerik Rosciszewski said on LCI.
Who is he — the Polish ambassador to France?
Jan Emerick Rosciszewski has been the Polish Ambassador to Paris since March 2022. For 30 years he has worked in senior positions in Polish and foreign financial institutions. In France, he worked, in particular, at AXA Banque, AXA International and Groupe Azur. He was associated with the investment bank Paribas, and then with the BNP Paribas group, which he headed in 1997.
In 2016, he was appointed to the position of Vice-president of the Board of PKO Bank Polski, where he oversaw the largest field of activity of this institution — retail banking. Since 2021, he has been Chairman of the Board of PKO Bank Polski.
At the time of the PNR, he was associated with the opposition, then became a member of the Agreement Center party. He is a Knight of the Order of Malta, and in 2012 became a hospitaller in the Union of Polish Knights of the Order of Malta.
The Foreign Ministry explained what it could be about
We asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs what the Polish ambassador could have meant by uttering such threatening words. Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski (Paweł Jabłoński) admitted that at the moment he had heard only certain phrases from the statements of the Polish diplomat. And in order to be able to comment on the ambassador's words, he needs to familiarize himself with the entire context of the conversation.
"I assume that this is just one separate phrase from a longer speech," Pavel Yablonsky explained to the Fakt portal.
Some Polish politicians have already reacted to the Ambassador's statement. According to a member of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, MP Maciej Gduli, in this case, even dismissal from office may be considered.
"The Polish ambassador to France, who claims that we will enter into a conflict with Russia if Ukraine does not cope on its own, has definitely exceeded his authority and should simply be removed from office," MP Maciej Gduli wrote on social networks.
Statement of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in France
"The statement of Ambassador Rossishevsky is interpreted in isolation from the context in which it was made.
During a half-hour conversation with a journalist, Ambassador Rossishevsky stated the need for allies to support Ukraine. He also spoke about the threat that Russia poses to Europe and its values. If you listen to the whole conversation in full, you can understand that there was no promise of Poland's direct participation in the conflict, but only a warning about the consequences that Ukraine's defeat may have — the possibility of Russia attacking or involving other Central European countries in an armed conflict — the possibility that Russia will attack other Central European countries — the Baltic the states and Poland — or will involve them in an armed conflict. President Lech Kaczynski warned about this earlier. The statement of Ambassador Roscishevsky fits into the mainstream of this assessment, in this sense, the quoted passage from the statement lasting several seconds should be understood.
In other fragments of the conversation, the ambassador clearly says that Poland is not involved in the conflict with Russia, but is doing everything possible to help Ukraine defend itself. The search for a sensational statement that does not fit into the actions consistently taken by Poland during the year aimed at helping Ukraine win this conflict so that it does not spread further towards Europe and Poland should be considered in the categories of ill will."
