The US envoy collected the prize at the 2023 Karpacz Economic Forum on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The organisers said that Mark Brzezinski was continuing the work of his father, the Polish-born former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, “in the generational relay of people who defend freedom.”
They added that “in recent months, Mark Brzezinski has worked tirelessly for American involvement in this part of Europe.”
“Thanks to his actions, American politicians, media commentators and civil society activists are now convinced that the heart of the Western world beats in this part of Europe,” the organisers said.
The US ambassador said in Polish that he was “greatly honoured” to be granted the Person of the Year award at the Karpacz Economic Forum, thus joining “such exceptional figures” as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, former Polish President Lech Wałęsa and former Czech President Vaclav Havel, the PAP news agency reported.
Brzezinski said, as quoted by PAP: "For more than 200 years, Americans and Poles have shared a fight for freedom and a search for opportunities. For more than 200 years, both nations have shared a history of mutual sacrifice - sacrifice for American freedom and sacrifice for Polish freedom."
He added: "The response to the war in Ukraine is turning out to be one of the significant moments in the history of the exceptional Polish-American friendship."
The US ambassador stated: “We have demonstrated the value of NATO, we have demonstrated that collective defence works. Our armed forces, which are part of NATO, are ensuring that people are secure. We have joined forces to satisfy the needs of millions of people."
Brzezinski thanked the Polish people for helping their Ukrainian neighbours in the face of Russian aggression.
He said: “The way Polish people have mobilised to help their neighbours is admired all over the world. On behalf of President Joe Biden I thank every family in Poland that takes concrete action to help Ukrainian refugees."
Brzezinski told the conference that Poland and the United States “have strategic opportunities” and “must maintain unity” in the future.
He added that Poland would have an especially important role to play in the reconstruction of Ukraine, which “will transform the entire region,” the PAP news agency reported.
“I am full of hope for the future," the US envoy also said. "It’s the Polish people who give me this hope. Your response to the crisis in Ukraine is now a model for other nations, in fact for the whole world."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 560 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, rmf24.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.
