Mateusz Morawiecki made the statement in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, published on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish PM said: “We regard the war in Ukraine primarily as an existential threat for Poland and the whole of Europe. If Russia wins this war, we might as well throw all the geopolitical analyses in the bin.”
Morawiecki added: “Poland didn’t choose its place on the map, but it is perfectly aware of the responsibility that goes with this location. Defeating Russia is in Poland’s national interest and also in Europe’s interest.”
‘You don’t negotiate with terrorists’
Asked why he was against holding peace talks with the Kremlin, the Polish PM stated: “You don’t negotiate with terrorists. And Russia today has become a terrorist state.”
Morawiecki stressed: “The daily shelling of cities, the attacks on civilian facilities, the killing of women and children - the scale of Russia’s war crimes is simply monstrous and unless it ends, we don’t have anything to talk about.”
De-Putinisation
The Polish PM also told Corriere della Sera that “another condition for bringing Russia back into the fold of civilised countries is de-Putinisation.”
He stated: “The Russians themselves must dismantle this quasi-totalitarian system created by President Putin. Then there will be hope for a different future in the relations between Russia and the European Union.”
Thursday is day 351 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, niezalezna.pl