Speaking during a summit of European leaders in Reykjavik, Iceland on Tuesday, Duda said that, with its invasion of Ukraine, Russia "wants not only to destroy the country," but also "revise all the values which form the basis of the Council of Europe."
"Let us remember that Putin's plan includes, in its wider context, the construction of a different order, an order based on values contrary to ours," Duda told the gathering.
"In such a world, democracy becomes an empty notion," he cautioned. "What matters is just naked force. Human rights are only a facade as every citizen can be sentenced to tens of years in a penal colony or lose their life for any reason."
Duda also warned that Russia, allied with Belarus, "is attacking the whole free world."
"We must not yield to that," the Polish president appealed. "We have to be even stronger and more united."
Duda told the summit that "the Register of Damage inflicted on Ukraine by the Russian aggression ... is an important step to hold to account those guilty of crimes committed in Ukraine."
He stated emphatically: "Crimes have to be accounted for. It is of key importance to compensate the victims and their loved ones. But it is also a precondition for peace and stability in future."
The Polish president also said that Ukraine was "shedding its blood and giving lives in the name of the values which underpin our identity."
"We – the free world – must be determined to support them in this fight," he told the summit. "Without such support all our declarations will remain void."
More than 40 European leaders on Tuesday gathered in Iceland's capital Reykjavik for a two-day Council of Europe summit to discuss human rights and security challenges including Russia's war against Ukraine, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The Council of Europe is an international organisation that brings together 46 countries aiming to uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
Ukraine has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1995.
Russia was also a member, but it was expelled from the organization in March last year, weeks after it invaded Ukraine, officials have noted.
Russia invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 448 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, president.pl