Marcin Przydacz made the comment in an interview with Polish state news agency PAP on Wednesday.
He said: “Ukraine itself should decide at what stage and in what format to hold talks with Russia, and not be pressured into talks by certain Western countries.”
France's Macron says Ukraine 'will have to negotiate' with Russia
Przydacz was speaking after French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier in the day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials "will have to negotiate" with Russia.
“And we, Europeans, will be at that table,” Macron added while on a visit to Romania.
“We will do everything to stop Russia's war forces, to help the Ukrainians and their army and continue to negotiate," Macron also stated.
‘Ukraine is entitled to defend its territory’
Przydacz commented: “Ukraine is entitled to defend its territory, its independence and sovereignty and receive support from the Western world, including European Union member countries.”
He said that, according to most experts, “the war against Russian imperialism will be decided on the battlefield.”
He added: “The strategy of dialogue with Russia, whether after the invasion of Georgia in 2008 or after the attack on Ukraine in 2014, hasn’t led to stabilisation and peace. On the contrary, it gave Vladimir Putin time to prepare another operation and was seen by the Kremlin as a sign of the weakness of Western policy.”
Przydacz told the PAP news agency: “Poland believes it is wrong to pressure Ukraine into premature dialogue."
Wednesday was day 112 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, wnp.pl