Andrzej Duda made the statement at the 2023 Krynica Forum policy conference in the southern Polish mountain resort of Krynica on Thursday.
On the second day of the three-day event, the Polish head of state took part in a debate entitled Poland and Lithuania: A Bulwark Against Tyranny from the East.
Also taking part was Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish president described his country's relations with Lithuania as “excellent,” thanks to economic cooperation in the European Union, joint infrastructure projects, including those under the Central European Three Seas Initiative, and energy policy.
Duda said that, when Russia halted gas supplies to Europe following its invasion of Ukraine last year, Poland was able to secure deliveries from other sources, in part thanks to a gas interconnector with Lithuania.
He also stressed the importance of the Suwałki Corridor area on the Polish-Lithuanian border, which separates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea from Belarus.
The Polish president said that ensuring the security of the Suwałki Corridor was “a shared concern” for Poland and Lithuania, "especially given the Belarusian regime’s hybrid attacks on the Polish and Lithuanian borders," and Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.
Duda noted that, together with Nausėda, he had visited Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of Russian atrocities in Bucha and Irpin, and saw the “tragedy caused by the Russians.”
The Polish president stated: “We realise how much Ukraine needs our coherent and consistent policy of support and how dangerous the re-emerging Russian imperialism is.”
He thanked Lithuanian officials for attending the 2023 Krynica Forum and stated: “We can see how much stronger we are thanks to cooperation ... from the economy to military security.”
Duda concluded it was "worthwhile for Poland and Lithuania to work together" and that “Polish-Lithuanian cooperation is of key importance to regional security.”
Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Nausėda said that “Europe and the democratic world regard Poland, Lithuania and other Baltic states as countries that understand the threat from the East and … are preparing to take all necessary measures to eliminate the threat.”
Nausėda added: “Ukraine’s freedom is in fact our freedom. We all understand Russia’s imperial ambitions.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 568 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, interia.pl
