In an interview published on Friday by Italy’s La Repubblica, Sikorski said Russian intentions remained dangerous even if its military had proved less effective than many had feared.
“Putin’s army has turned out to be less effective than we thought. However, his intentions are much worse than some in Europe thought”, Sikorski said.
He argued that Russia currently lacked the military advantage needed for a large-scale conflict, even against Ukraine, and said its resources were depleted. To threaten Europe, he said, Moscow would first have to end the current war and then rebuild its stockpiles for two or three years.
“So: we should treat it seriously, but without panic”, he said. “And do what we must do, namely strengthen our defense capabilities, in order to effectively deter Putin by the end of the decade”.
Sikorski also said Ukraine was gaining more territory at the front than it was losing, and estimated that at the current pace Putin would need at least 18 months and 300,000 deaths to conquer the rest of Donbas.
He also said Poland would not take military action in the Middle East, echoing recent remarks by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. On the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran, Sikorski said Poland agreed with “the goal of destroying the nuclear arsenal” and suggested that objective had largely been achieved.
Asked about Russia benefiting from the war with Iran, Sikorski said that in the short term Moscow gained from higher oil prices, but added that Gulf states and Israel understood Russia was an ally of Iran, supplying it with weapons and intelligence.
He pointed to numerous examples of hybrid warfare by Russia in Europe, including Poland, and said Moscow had long maintained “death squads” abroad against dissidents, Chechens and deserters.
In the interview, Sikorski referred to Hungary’s blocking of a EUR 90 billion EU loan for Ukraine as “scandalous”.
Poland’s chief diplomat also said the situation around the Druzhba pipeline was “absurd”, arguing that Ukraine was fighting for survival against Russia while still allowing Russian oil to transit to a country hostile to Kyiv, and that Hungary was taking Ukraine “hostage” over the loan despite having an alternative supply route through Croatia.
Sikorski also said Poland highly valued Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s position on Ukraine and the EU, and expressed hope that the Polish “nationalists” would draw conclusions from her example.
Referring to nationalist rhetoric in Poland and opposition to the EU SAFE defense loan mechanism vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki, Sikorski warned that such positions should raise concern about the risk of Polexit.
(jh)
Source: PAP