Mateusz Morawiecki will host Switzerland’s Ignazio Cassis and the Netherlands’ Mark Rutte in Warsaw, at the start of what will be a “key” week for diplomacy, the Polish government’s spokesman, Piotr Müller, told reporters.
Both the NATO alliance and the European Union are holding summits next Thursday, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
EU membership for Ukraine, sanctions for Russia
Müller said that the Polish prime minister's meeting with his Dutch counterpart “won’t be easy, but is necessary” as Poland seeks to convince the Netherlands that Ukraine should be swiftly admitted to the EU.
“We’ll be persuading the Dutch prime minister that ... granting Ukraine candidate status and then also EU membership are important geopolitical decisions that will ensure the security of the whole European continent and guarantee peace in the future,” Müller said.
Meanwhile, Morawiecki’s talks with Cassis are expected to focus on sanctions against Russia, given Switzerland's “important role” in blocking financial transfers, Müller added.
He was speaking to reporters after a meeting between Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and top government ministers on the situation in Ukraine.
The country’s senior politicians discussed strategy for the upcoming NATO and EU summits, Müller revealed.
Visit to Kyiv
The meeting came after Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński travelled to Kyiv earlier this week for direct talks with the leaders of war-hit Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
They were accompanied by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenia’s Janez Janša.
Meanwhile, the Polish head of state on Wednesday visited Ankara, exploring ways to stop the Russian assault on Ukraine with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the PAP news agency reported.
Friday is day 23 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.
Poland on Thursday reported it had admitted nearly 2 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP