Mateusz Morawiecki made the remark in a speech to an annual conference of Polish ambassadors on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The prime minister told the gathering: “We are in great turmoil, with a rapidly changing situation around us. However, the voice of Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries is being listened to like never before.”
He said that, in the past, Poland “kept warning others” about the threat from Russia, but “it all fell on deaf ears.”
He added: “But Russia’s cruel assault on Ukraine, with all its consequences … has changed attitudes.”
Morawiecki stated: "Today, we can look our ... friends and partners from Western Europe in the eye and say: now you see who was right.”
'Countries that think in a like-minded way, but are afraid to speak up'
The prime minister told ambassadors that Poland was "facing an important challenge" in the European Union, "namely an attempt to centralise the decision-making process, without regard to the views of member states.”
He vowed: “We’ll do everything in our power to counter this.”
Morawiecki added: “I urge all the ambassadors to EU member states to be especially proactive in encouraging … countries that think in a like-minded way, but are afraid to speak up.”
Polish ambassadors 'have enormous role to play’
He went on to say that “after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Poland has turned out to be a hub that attracts many other countries in our part of the world--and not only post-communist bloc countries, but also all the other countries that have realised the magnitude of the threat from Russia.”
Morawiecki said that "with the world at a huge geopolitical turning point,” Polish ambassadors “have an enormous role to play.”
He added: “We must use this time to good effect. We must use it to strengthen our position on the international stage, to present our domestic and foreign policy priorities in a compelling way to bolster our message ...”
Morawiecki also told the conference that his government was "consistently implementing the objective of strengthening Poland’s position on the international stage.”
The annual conference of ambassadors aims to summarise recent developments in Polish foreign policy and discuss plans for the future, according to officials.
This year’s meeting runs until Friday, and the ambassadors are also set to be addressed by President Andrzej Duda, among other senior politicians, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 481 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, tvp.info