Poland’s prime minister on Friday called on the German government to support war-torn Ukraine “to a much larger extent,” including by „sending heavy weapons.”
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Lithuania’s Ingrida Šimonytė hold a joint news conference after the Polish-Lithuanian inter-governmental talks in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Friday, September 16, 2022.PAP/Mateusz Marek
Mateusz Morawiecki made the appeal at a news conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish PM met the media alongside his Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Šimonytė, following talks between the two governments in the Lithuanian capital.
Appeal to Germany to step up support for Ukraine
Asked for his view on Germany’s assistance to Ukraine so far, Morawiecki told reporters: “If other countries provided assistance at Germany’s pace, by now Putin would probably be at the border with Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia.”
He added: “If the German Chancellor is changing his opinion, then I’m pleased, but I keep calling on the strong German economy, on the German government, to help Ukraine to a much larger extent, to send heavy weapons.”
‘Russia started energy war’
Asked about the energy crisis fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Polish PM said: “The whole of Europe is being subjected to the Russian energy blackmail.”
He stressed: “We must change the rules [on energy prices] that were meant for peacetime. Today, Russia has started an energy war in all of Europe, and it has also created inflation in all of Europe.”
Morawiecki noted that Poland had suggested a number of policy changes to the European Union, including changes to the bloc’s emissions-trading scheme (ETS), the PAP news agency reported.
Polish-Lithuanian relations
Reflecting on the inter-governmental consultations in Vilnius, the Polish PM said: “In many bilateral areas, from culture to education, infrastructure and foreign policy, we are practically on the same wavelength. Thank you, Prime Minister Šimonytė and President Nausėda.”
Besides the inter-governmental meeting, Morawiecki had also held talks with PM Šimonytė and the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
’Russia must be stopped’
The Polish PM also told reporters: “Russia must be stopped and Russia can be stopped. Ukraine does it on the battlefield, but the Lithuanian and the Polish governments also do it, explaining to Western Europe what our policy should look like to never be subject of Russian blackmail again.”
Morawiecki added: „It all starts with security. We, Poland and Lithuania, work side by side in Brussels, Washington and Kyiv, helping our Ukrainian friends to make this new security architecture the foundation for the future prosperity of our two nations.”
(pm)