His remarks followed Moscow's brutal Palm Sunday missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, in which dozens of people died and over a hundred were injured, including several children.
According to experts, at least one missile was armed with cluster munitions – prohibited in use against civilian areas.
EU FMs discuss new sanctions on Russia
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, Sikorski confirmed that the ministers discussed a possible new, 17th, package of sanctions against Russia in response to these latest acts of aggression.
He acknowledged that the idea of further measures was supported by many of his counterparts, but pointed to Hungary as the main obstacle.
Putin 'talks of peace while bombing civilians'
"We know we have one country, Hungary, which lacks the moral clarity we have in the face of Moscow’s attacks,” Sikorski said.
He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin "talks of peace while bombing civilians and killing children.”
Sikorski repeated his appeal to Budapest to lift its veto on releasing nearly EUR 7 billion from the European Peace Facility, a fund used to reimburse EU member states for military aid sent to Ukraine.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the facility has played a key role in enabling support for Kyiv, but further disbursements require unanimous approval, which Hungary continues to block.
'It’s like talking to a brick wall'
The Polish foreign minister also called on Hungary to allow the EU to open its first “cluster” of accession negotiations with Ukraine. “But it’s like talking to a brick wall,” he said.
Asked whether there was still a chance to launch Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations during Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union until the end of June, Sikorski replied: "That’s a very good question for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.”
The minister said the Luxembourg meeting also addressed the future use of frozen Russian assets in the EU to support Ukraine.
Asked if Germany was becoming more open to this proposal, Sikorski expressed cautious optimism: “I hope the new German government will consider it. Just as we hear that the new chancellor may finally make Taurus missiles available to Ukraine, I hope we’ll see progress here too.”
He also said he was awaiting a response from the United States to Russia’s recent escalations. Referring to discussions at a recent NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, Sikorski quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying that Washington “will not wait forever” for Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
Sikorski recalled efforts made by Washington to encourage Moscow to negotiate, including a controversial meeting between US and Russian leaders, a pause in intelligence sharing and military support, and even a decision to withdraw from the process of establishing a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes.
According to Sikorski, Putin’s "version of peace" is based on forcing Ukraine to surrender.
"Like every aggressor in history, he says he wants peace, but what he means is capitulation," Sikorski said. "He wants to achieve his war aims without paying the cost. We have to draw conclusions, and the conclusion is obvious: as Europe steps up its support for Ukraine, so too should the United States.”
VE Day 80 years on
The ministers also discussed the symbolic weight of the upcoming 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Sikorski conveyed that Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in consultation with him and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, has invited EU foreign ministers to meet in Lviv, western Ukraine, on May 9 – the anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany.
“I thought it was an excellent idea, to show that Europe is in Ukraine, not standing beside Putin in Moscow,” Sikorski said.
“I also agree with Kaja Kallas that the presence of any representative of a member or candidate country in Moscow would be a disgrace," he added.
Sikorski warned that Putin is likely to try to use the occasion to portray Russia as the main victor over fascism.
“It’s yet another lie,” he said. “Russia is an authoritarian state. Today, there are more political prisoners in Russia than there were under [Leonid] Brezhnev. And it is Russia that invades its neighbours and denies a large neighbouring country its right to national identity. These are fascist practices.”
He stressed that the victory over Nazism was not solely a Russian achievement: "It wasn’t only Russians who fought in World War II. Several million Ukrainians died in the war, and several million more served in the Red Army, helping to liberate, among other places, Poland and capture Berlin.
"So the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition over the Third Reich does not belong to Putin, and celebrating that victory against Ukraine, and to slander Ukraine, is a case of historical appropriation.”
'Good Weimar tradition'
Commenting briefly on reports that Germany’s incoming chancellor plans to make Warsaw and Paris the destinations of his first official visits, Sikorski said: "That would be a good Weimar tradition.”
He was referring to the Weimar Triangle, a long-standing platform for trilateral cooperation between Poland, Germany and France.
Albania moves closer to joining EU
Monday’s meeting in Luxembourg also saw the EU open new chapters in Albania's accession talks, focusing on the single market.
Sikorski welcomed the move, describing Albania as a country “whose people clearly want to be in the European Union."
He told reporters: "That’s important because membership is a privilege, not an obligation. The fact that Albania is meeting the criteria entitles it to our goodwill.”
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP