Poland's Andrzej Duda, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and France’s Emmanuel Macron met on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Before the trilateral meeting, known as the Weimar Triangle format, the three heads of state held a joint news conference.
‘No alternative but for us to support Ukraine’
The Polish president told reporters: “Without support from the Western community, from democratic countries, Ukraine will fall. It will be conquered by Russia, it will be defeated by Russia, and there won’t be peace in the world because I have no doubt that Russia won’t stop at Ukraine.”
He added there was “no alternative but for us to support Ukraine with all our strength.”
“I thank the chancellor and the president for this support, because it is being provided both from Germany and from France," the Polish president said. "We need even more support from the West, we need to forge even closer ties, also within the trans-Atlantic community."
'No economic cooperation' with Russia
Duda also said that, following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, “the perception of the security architecture in our part of the world has changed” and “we are witnessing a war not seen in Europe since World War II.”
According to the Polish head of state, “the illusions have collapsed, like a house of cards, that you can have relations with a Russia that has revived its imperial ambitions, that wants to rule other countries, that wants to subjugate other nations.”
Duda stated: “It’s obvious that there can be no economic cooperation with this kind of Russia. No honest country that wants peace and compliance with the world order, based on international law, can accept that.”
'We’ve done what we could to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty’: Scholz
Meanwhile, Germany’s Scholz said that “in recent weeks and months, we’ve done what we could to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He also stressed the importance of cooperation within the European Union and the NATO alliance.
The German chancellor hailed the Weimar Triangle format, which brings together Poland, Germany and France.
“The Weimar Triangle has rich traditions, we want to continue them today and not only today,” he said, as quoted by the PAP news agency.
‘We must not let up on assistance for Ukraine’: Macron
France’s Macron said that he, Duda and Scholz were meeting to discuss support for Ukraine and the strengthening of the NATO alliance, among other issues.
"We must not let up on our assistance for Ukraine,” Macron said.
“We have imposed sanctions [against Russia], we have responded quickly, we are coordinating our efforts, and we are unanimous,” the French president told reporters, as quoted by PAP.
Friday was day 359 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, dorzeczy.pl