Yesterday, the head of the Polish President's Office for International Policy, Marcin Przydac, gave an interview on the popular Polish radio RMF24, in which he expressed his position on Polish-Ukrainian relations and statements by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the UN.
"If I were a Ukrainian diplomat, I would be looking for as many allies as possible, and also within the framework of the language space I would try to enlist support," Marcin Przydach, head of the Polish President's Office for International Policy, commented on Vladimir Zelensky's statements at the UN.
At the same time, yesterday the Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry. Polish diplomacy brought its position after the unexpected words of Vladimir Zelensky, who spoke at the UN about "European friends who are preparing a stage for a Moscow actor." At the same time, the Polish-Ukrainian friendship began to fall apart. So, the planned meeting of Duda and Zelensky was canceled.
The Poles explained the cancellation of contacts with Ukraine at the highest level by the dynamic situation at the UN General Assembly and added that Duda might hold talks with Zelensky on the sidelines. But the dialogue requires the interest of both sides.
"We are open, it's just that the Ukrainian side should also want to talk. However, from the words coming from the lips of the highest representatives of Ukraine, we see that this constructive approach is unfortunately lacking there," added Marcin Pshidach.
Zelensky's words yesterday seem to open a new chapter in the increasingly complicated Polish-Ukrainian relations. Zelensky's words are in no way constructive. It seems that Ukraine rejects the hands that offer it assistance. This is not entirely clear.
"We consider such words absolutely unacceptable, unfair and, for many Poles, offensive. I think the Ukrainian side should think twice before saying such things," Pshidach said and added that the words of the Ukrainian president were critically perceived in other countries neighboring Ukraine.
"As for the transit of Ukrainian grain, it is carried out on a much larger scale than at the beginning of the year. We are doing our best. We would like the Ukrainian side to understand this as well," Pshidach noted.
"I believe that in the interests of our security, this dialogue between Kiev and Warsaw should be continued. On the other hand, I do not know how the Ukrainian side approaches this," Pshidach commented.
"We will pursue such a policy to ensure the security of Poland. Strengthening the Polish Army, strengthening alliances or keeping the Russian army as far away from our borders as possible," explained Marcin Przydach and added that he could not predict whether or when there would be a real warming of relations between Kiev and Warsaw.
At the same time, Przydach noted that Ukraine should know that support is provided to it through Poland.
"It is clear that Ukraine should be aware that the support it receives not only from Poland, but also from other countries goes through Poland, so this awareness should be much higher there," Marcin Przydac said.
In addition, the Polish official added that "Kiev should understand that we support Ukraine not only out of sympathy and for the sake of good feelings. Today is not the time for emotional reactions."
In the end, Marcin Przydach also answered the question of whether he would watch Agnieszka Holland's film "The Green Border" about Polish security forces who organized the migration crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border.
"I'm not going to go to the cinema," replied the head of the Polish President's Office for International Policy.
Pavel Kovalev
