Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Portugal’s Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa held talks at the presidential palace in Warsaw, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
At a joint news conference afterwards, the Polish president said: "Portugal ranks among our most important partners and allies both in the European Union and NATO, and this was the core theme of our talks."
He added: “We discussed the situation in Poland, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the situation of war refugees, who have been provided with shelter by Poland.”
Duda told reporters: “We also talked about the migrant pressure, the hybrid pressure coming from the Belarusian regime.”
He emphasised that Poland’s eastern border “isn’t just the border of Poland, but also the border of the NATO alliance, of the European Union and of the EU’s Schengen zone” of passport-free travel.
Poland’s head of state said: “Our duty to guard this border isn’t just our duty as Poles defending our own territory. We are also guarding the security of the NATO alliance and the member states of the EU, fulfilling our allied obligations.”
Duda cautioned that "the situation at the Belarus border" was being made "very challenging" by the presence of Russia’s Wagner mercenaries in Belarus.
He stressed “the need to maintain a policy of imposing sanctions against Russia" amid its continuing war in Ukraine "and to take all measures to force Russia to cease its aggression, withdraw from the internationally recognised territories of Ukraine and stop its occupation of Ukraine.”
Duda and Rebelo de Sousa also discussed economic cooperation between Poland and Portugal, according to officials.
The Polish president told reporters: “I told Portugal’s president I was pleased with the growing economic trade between our countries. Last year, these ties rose by 13 percent, exceeding EUR 3 billion a year.”
During Tuesday’s meeting at the presidential palace, Duda decorated Rebelo de Sousa with Poland’s Order of the White Eagle “for excellent services to the deepening of cooperation between Poland and Portugal,” officials said.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese president granted his Polish counterpart Portugal’s special distinction of the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry, according to officials.
Later on Tuesday, the Portuguese leader was expected to meet with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and parliamentary Speakers Elżbieta Witek and Tomasz Grodzki, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 545 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl
