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Polish conservative leader warns against forcing Ukraine into peace talks with Russia

03.03.2023 08:30
Poland’s conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński has said that pressuring Ukraine into peace negotiations would serve Russia’s interests and warned that "a defeat for Ukraine" would spell “immense danger” for his own country. 
Jarosław Kaczyński.
Jarosław Kaczyński.PAP/Lech Muszyński

Kaczyński, who heads Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, made the statement in a media interview on Thursday.

Speaking to public broadcaster Polish Radio and the state-run TVP Info news channel, Kaczyński said: “Imposing any conditions on Ukraine would be a move that would benefit Russia, especially as a substantial part of Ukrainian territory is in Russian hands. Reclaiming these territories is a condition for honest negotiations.”

He was referring to recent media reports that the West could issue an ultimatum to Ukraine, persuading Kyiv to enter peace talks with Moscow, if Ukrainian forces failed to make significant battlefield advances by the autumn of this year, Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Kaczyński said: “Ukrainians can’t afford to start negotiations before fully liberating their territory.”   

‘Everything must be done to ensure that Ukraine is not defeated

He added that "a defeat for Ukraine" would “spell immense danger for Poland” and so “everything must be done to ensure that Ukraine is not defeated.”

Kaczyński also said that, for decades in the past, some European countries had engaged in “close economic cooperation” with Russia, "turning a blind eye to blatant human rights violations,” and enabling Moscow “to arm itself and stabilise its internal situation.” 

Kaczyński stated: “This cooperation greatly helped Russia build its position, regardless of what Russia was doing, and ever since Chechnya, it was clear it was capable of anything.”

He added that “Russia was receiving a very serious boost" from some European countries, using Western funds to "arm itself, among other aims.” 

'Grim role' of Russia-to-Germany gas pipelines

In the interview, Kaczyński mentioned the “grim role” of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, thus bypassing Ukraine, Polish state news agency PAP reported. 

He said Russia “would've found it difficult to invade" if oil flowed to Europe through Ukraine, "hence the decision to build Nord Stream 1 and 2."

Kaczyński said: “Without it, this war, this ‘special operation,’ which was supposed to be quick and without any major negative effects for Russia, would have been practically impossible.”  

Friday is day 373 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, euromaidanpress.com