Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Lithuania’s Gitanas Nausėda visited the Ukrainian capital for a meeting with the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of support amid concerns that Russia was poised to attack its neighbour, news agencies reported.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway areas in eastern Ukraine as independent and sent Russian troops to the separatist regions to carry out what the Kremlin described as “peacekeeping functions.”
The United States, the European Union, Britain, Canada, Australia and Japan have all since imposed sanctions on Moscow, including on Russian banks, Russia’s sovereign debt and the country’s elites.
Ukrainian president thanks for Polish support
After his talks with Duda and Nausėda in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukraine's Zelensky described the Polish and Lithuanian leaders as “great friends of Ukraine'' and added that their presence in the Ukrainian capital was “very important.”
The Ukrainian president added that “the presidents of Poland and Lithuania have come to support Ukraine at this difficult time - we appreciate it very much.”
Zelensky also thanked Warsaw and Vilnius for supplying military hardware and ammunition to his country.
Polish president: ‘We must say no to Russia’s neo-imperial policy’
The Polish president said the three-way meeting in Kyiv, in what is known as the Lublin Triangle format, was “a symbol of solidarity” with Zelensky, the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian state, which “faces a deep crisis and the threat of powerful Russian aggression.”
Duda said that the presidents of the Lublin Triangle countries remained in constant contact and were consulting each other ahead of talks with world leaders.
“This is in line with the principle: ‘Nothing about us without us and nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,’” Duda said.
The Polish president told reporters that the Ukraine crisis represented “a big test for European solidarity and the unity of the European Union and NATO.”
He called on the international community to show unity and overcome divisions.
“We must say a clear ‘no’ to Russia’s neo-imperial policy,” Duda stated.
Appeal to Putin
“We appeal to President Vladimir Putin, to the Russian decision makers, to refrain from ordering the start of a military operation against Ukraine,” he added.
“We appeal to Russia, our neighbour, for peace and calm,” the Polish president also said.
“We are all walking a thin line between peace, coupled with further uninterrupted growth, and a war that can lead Europe, or even the world, down an uncertain path,” Duda warned.
He also said: “We call on Russia to de-escalate, withdraw its military forces amassed around Ukraine’s borders and immediately refrain from further armed action.”
The Polish, Ukrainian and Lithuanian presidents also released a joint statement, expressing their "strongest condemnation" of Russia's decision "to recognise the quasi-entities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – the so-called 'Luhansk People’s Republic' and 'Donetsk People’s Republic.'"
The statement called for a "robust package of sanctions" on Russia amid escalating tensions in Eastern Europe.
Earlier on Wednesday, Polish lawmakers condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and called for harsh sanctions against Moscow.
Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and then fomented a separatist conflict in that country's eastern Donbas region, leading to a wave of EU and US sanctions against Moscow and Russian officials.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info