Polish FM meets counterparts in New York ahead of UN General Assembly

Poland’s foreign minister has met with the top diplomats of Armenia, the Palestinian Authoritiy and fellow European Union countries in New York, ahead of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).  

Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (first from left) meets the Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (centre) and Slovakia's Foreign Minister Rastislav Káčer (first from right) in New York on Monday, September 19, 2022.

Twitter/Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Zbigniew Rau will accompany Polish President Andrzej Duda during the session’s general debate, state news agency PAP reported.

FM @RauZbigniew began his visit to New York for the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. #UNGA

Alongside the visit, Minister Rau met with the Chief Executive Officer @DavidHarrisAJC.

🇵🇱🇮🇱 relations and cooperation with @AJCGlobal were the main topic of the meeting. pic.twitter.com/2lhxGqA1RX

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) September 19, 2022

Bilateral meetings

After arriving in New York on Monday, the Polish foreign minister met with Armenia’s top diplomat Ararat Mirzojan to discuss the recently rekindled conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry, Łukasz Jasina, told reporters: “Minister Rau, both as Poland’s foreign minister and the chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is seeking to help bring the Armenian and Azerbaijani stances closer to each other. We are seeking to help the South Caucasus so that peace reigns there, not war.”

FM @RauZbigniew also held a meeting with FM of Armenia 🇦🇲 @AraratMirzoyan.

The discussion focused on 🇵🇱🇦🇲 bilateral relations as well as on the security situation in the South Caucasus region and involvement of the 🇵🇱 @OSCE Chairmanship in the peace process. pic.twitter.com/CMtnq9dkt5

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) September 19, 2022

Jasina stated: “Due to the instability [in Ukraine], we see instability spreading in the South Caucasus, Central Asia and other places.” He added that Poland’s foreign minister may meet with diplomats from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, two countries which also exchanged fire in recent days.  

EU, V4, Palestinian Authority

Meanwhile on Monday, Rau also held talks with the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki, and took part in an informal get-together of European Union top diplomats, officials said. 

The talk between FM @RauZbigniew and FM of the Palestinian National Authority 🇵🇸 Riyad al-Maliki was another highlight of the visit to New York.

Bilateral relations and Russia's aggression against Ukraine were the main topics of the ministers' discussion. pic.twitter.com/r67hWWTV5b

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) September 19, 2022

In addition, the Polish foreign minister met with his counterparts from the Visegrad Group (V4), including Slovakia’s new top diplomat Rastislav Káčer, but Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó did not take part in the meeting, according to officials.

The further cooperation within the Visegrad Group was the main focus of the #V4 Foreign Ministers' meeting, attended by FM @RauZbigniew.

🇵🇱🇨🇿🇸🇰🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/anNFxuykZe

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) September 19, 2022

UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, talks with Blinken

While in New York, Rau is also set to take part in a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine.

Moreover, he and his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly “will attend an informal MIKTA cooperation format, which brings together some of the G20 countries, i.e.: Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, and Australia,” Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

From New York, Poland’s top diplomat is set to head to Washington for a meeting with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

Jasina said: “Secretary Blinken rarely declines Minister Rau’s requests when there is a need to talk. And there are matters that merit discussion.”

Tuesday is day 209 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(pm)

Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl