Zbigniew Rau made the statement at a news conference in New York at the end of last week, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland’s top diplomat was wrapping up a two-day visit to the United States to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While in New York, Rau attended a special session of the United Nations General Assembly, where a resolution was adopted on the principles underlying a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, officials said.
The Polish foreign minister also took part in a UN Security Council briefing at the ministerial level and – via video link – in the Reinforced Meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reporters were told.
Poland 'leading the way' in helping Ukraine
Rau told reporters in New York on Friday that Poland had adopted the principle of helping Ukraine “as much and as quickly as possible” to repel the Russian invasion.
He stated: “In this way, we are leading the way among the entire community of the free world. We have been proving this practically every day from the beginning of Russian aggression.”
Scepticism towards China’s peace proposals
Poland’s top diplomat said that the countries of the free world “responded with scepticism” to a peace initiative submitted to the UN Security Council by China.
He told reporters that China’s peace plan had “two positive aspects,” namely “the recognition of Ukraine’s need for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” and Beijing’s “opposition to the use of nuclear weapons” by Russia.
At the same time, Rau stressed that China "wasn't calling for a just peace” and “didn’t specify who is the aggressor and who is the victim,” the PAP news agency reported.
Moreover, Beijing “doesn’t mention the need to bring those responsible for war crimes to justice and for Russia to atone for the harm inflicted on Ukraine,” he added.
‘Ukraine belongs to the free world’
Rau disagreed with an argument that many countries were not sufficiently vocal in their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, PAP reported.
He noted that a total of 141 countries on Thursday supported a resolution that marked the one-year anniversary of the war by calling for a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" and telling Moscow to pull out its forces and stop fighting.
Rau stressed that only seven countries, including Russia, voted against the resolution.
Poland’s top diplomat stated that “contrary to the Kremlin’s expectations,” Ukraine “belongs to the free world.”
‘There is no alternative to US leadership’
Rau also said that the free world had maintained “spectacular unity” in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine, and stressed the importance of “American leadership.”
Rau told the news briefing in New York: “There can be no unity of the free world without American leadership ... The United States is a superpower and the leader of the free world. There is no alternative to its leadership.”
‘Poland will support Ukraine for as long as it takes’
Poland’s foreign minister told reporters that Polish-Russian relations "haven’t changed for a year.”
He said: “We are staunchly defending Ukraine’s right to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We reiterate that Ukraine can count on our comprehensive support for as long as necessary.”
“Russia is the aggressor in the war against Ukraine and its stance towards us reflects these relations,” Rau concluded.
'International community must not remain idle'
In his address at the UN General Assembly, the Polish foreign minister called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and said that Moscow must be held accountable for its violations of fundamental principles of international law, Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Rau “underlined the role of Poland and Poles in providing assistance to Ukrainian nationals, and their solidarity,” according to the statement.
Later, during his speech at the UN Security Council, Poland’s top diplomat “stressed, in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the utmost importance of the international community’s support for the rules underlying the international order,” the foreign ministry said.
Rau stressed that “despite the Council’s incapacity to take effective action due to Russia’s abuse of its right to veto, the international community must not remain idle,” officials told reporters.
Poland’s foreign minister told the UN Security Council: “If we do not stand up to jointly defend basic principles and values of international law today, tomorrow it can be too late.”
During his trip to New York, Rau also held bilateral meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Guatemala's top diplomat, Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, according to officials.
Monday is day 369 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl