Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival, he also addressed the growing strategic interdependence between Moscow and Beijing, and reiterated the need for Europe to bolster its own defence capabilities.
Russia, hybrid threats, and Ukraine
During a panel titled “A Continent in Crisis: Russia, Ukraine and the European Story”, Sikorski drew attention to what he called hybrid warfare, which is not just online attacks.
"It involves arsons, sabotage, ‘accidental’ drone flights. It also includes acts of state terrorism, such as planting explosives on railway tracks in Poland," quoting his remarks from the festival in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.
Sikorski stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “calls the Ukrainian nation brothers, and then kills them,” despite signed border treaties.
Poland's top diplomat recalled that Ukraine had previously given up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees, which were subsequently violated.
“Russia speaks of trust, but its actions tell a different story,” he added, according to Indian news agency ANI.
The minister also warned of closer Moscow-Beijing ties.
“China has gained strategic leverage since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Russia is now forced to sell oil at lower prices and has become increasingly dependent on China for high-quality goods, internet access, and cyber services,” Sikorski noted, adding that Moscow destabilises the world in return by transferring missile technologies to North Korea.
The head of Polish diplomacy emphasised that, regardless of “fluctuations” in transatlantic relations, Europe must enhance its own defence capabilities and become more self-reliant in safeguarding the continent.
Polish deputy PM explores economic and diplomatic ties in north-western India
As previously reported by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Sikorski began his visit to India on Saturday in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan in north-western India, where he met the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and the state’s Finance Minister, Diya Kumari.
The talks focused on prospects for cooperation with Rajasthan, Polish investment in India, and the international situation.
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Source: MSZ/IAR/PAP/ANI/X/@PolandMFA/@sikorskiradek/@radeksikorski