Mateusz Morawiecki made the remark at a joint briefing with his Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger in Vyšné Ružbachy, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Earlier, the two prime ministers led bilateral intergovernmental consultations in the northern Slovak resort.
One voice
Morawiecki told reporters: “The strength of the response to what is happening in Ukraine, to Russia’s unbelievable aggression against Ukraine, depends largely on the strength and cohesiveness of the voice of Central and Eastern European countries, the countries that lie on the eastern border of NATO and the European Union.”
He added: “And so I am delighted to note that today we spoke in one voice … about the strategic challenges posed by events beyond our eastern border, as well as the growth opportunities ... for Central Europe."
Russian energy
Morawiecki said that Poland was aiming to wean itself off Russian coal, gas and oil by the end of the year in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
He added that “Slovakia’s dependence on Russian gas is bigger and more dangerous,” and vowed to help the country cut off imports from Russia.
“This is what real solidarity is about - we will do it; I promised our support to Prime Minister Heger,” Morawiecki told reporters.
Helping Ukraine
The Polish prime minister lauded Ukrainians for mounting “a heroic defence” of their country and said Poland and Slovakia would “work together towards rebuilding a sovereign Ukraine.”
He added that Poland and Slovakia shared not just a border with Ukraine, but also “our policies, our principles, our ideas for the future.”
“It is our duty to be with Ukraine today, in these dark times,” Morawiecki stressed.
He warned that “Vladimir Putin seeks to restore the Russian empire” and would immediately strive “to extend his sphere of influence to Poland, Slovakia, the Baltic states and Finland if he won in Ukraine.”
Western Europe’s promises
Referring to efforts to stop Putin’s war machine, Morawiecki said that “not everyone is fulfilling their promises of providing weapons and humanitarian aid” to Ukraine.
He told reporters that "certain countries of Western Europe" were pursuing “delaying tactics” and “ambiguous policy.”
Friday was day 58 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl