Zbigniew Rau made the statement at the Forum 2000 conference in the Czech capital Prague on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland’s top diplomat took part in a panel discussion entitled “Ukraine: A vision for success,” alongside Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, the Netherlands’ Wopke Hoekstra and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
The debate was hosted by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
‘Ukraine must win’
Rau said that “Ukraine must win the war,” adding that Ukrainians were defending "not just their country’s borders," but also “democratic principles and human dignity,” with determination and heroism.
“In order to be able to win, Ukraine must receive military, political, diplomatic and economic assistance from Western countries,” the Polish foreign minister stated.
He urged European countries to support Ukraine “in every possible way and as fast as they can,” adding he was worried by those who “are doing as little and as slowly as possible.”
‘EU candidate status is key to Ukraine’s future’
Rau said that “Ukraine being accepted as a candidate to join the EU is of key importance to the country’s future.”
“We must do everything we can to continue this strategic political process,” he added. “I am convinced that in the coming years, it will be at least as significant as the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine.”
Rau told the panel that if Ukraine wins the war and the accession process continues, “we will have gained a partner who will be promoting our collective values for decades to come.”
Asked what would constitute success for Ukraine, Rau said: “first, recapturing Russian-occupied territories; second, weakening Russia so that it is unable to continue its foreign policy and third, sparking debate inside Russia,” the PAP news agency reported.
Thursday is day 190 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, niezalezna.pl