Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Italy’s Sergio Mattarella met at the presidential palace in Warsaw to discuss support for Ukraine and a range of other topics, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
It was the first day of the Italian president’s three-day visit to Poland.
The talks between Duda and Mattarella focused on international and bilateral cooperation between Poland and Italy, as well as a range of security and migration issues, notably the war in Ukraine and support for Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion, in addition to an upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, according to officials.
'We call on the whole world to support Ukraine unceasingly'
At a joint news conference afterwards, the Polish president said that "recently there have been calls in the international community for an end to the war, for a peace deal to be struck as soon as possible” and “for a halt to support for Ukraine.”
Duda stated: “Everyone who calls for a stop on support for Ukraine today, amid Russia’s ongoing aggression, is effectively acting in the interests of Moscow, in the interests of Russia.”
He warned: “If Ukraine stops receiving support, Russia is going to win this war, which will be merely the first step in its efforts to extend its power over the nations of this part of Europe.”
The Polish president added that "for these reasons Poland keeps supporting Ukraine” and “perfectly understands” its neighbour "who seeks to defend its freedom and independence at all cost.”
Duda said: “We support them, we’ll continue to support them, and we call on the whole world to support Ukraine unceasingly until this war ends with Russia being denied victory.”
He reiterated: “Russia can’t win this war. If Russia wins this war, it will attack more countries.”
The Polish president also said that he and Italy’s Mattarella had “an absolutely identical stance on this issue” and thanked Italy for its assistance to Ukraine.
He added that both Poland and Italy were taking part in the preparation of an anti-rocket defence system that would be handed over to Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
'Ukraine should be granted EU membership as soon as possible'
Duda also told reporters that he had spoken to the Italian president about ways of effectively working together in the European Union.
He said: “We have the same stance when it comes to the enlargement of our community. We would like the EU to admit the Western Balkan countries that are seeking membership. We work together to lobby for this, and we’ll continue to do so.”
The Polish president added: “But today we would also like stress, and especially we in Poland are emphasising it firmly, that Ukraine should be granted EU membership as soon as possible.”
According to Duda, "the ambition of the Ukrainian people to join the Western community and the EU became one of the causes of Russian aggression.”
He warned: “The Russians are seeking to drive Ukraine away from Europe at all cost.”
'I encourage Polish entrepreneurs to do business with Italy'
Duda and Mattarella also discussed bilateral economic cooperation between Poland and Italy, officials told reporters.
The Polish president said at the news conference: “I encourage Polish entrepreneurs to do business with Italy. I am pleased that this cooperation has been developing recently.”
He added that the Italian economy was "characterised by modern technological thinking and innovation.”
Poland, Italy fighting illegal migration, 'expect more support' from EU
Another major topic during Monday’s talks was migration, according to officials.
Duda cautioned that “the EU is wrestling with the problem of illegal migration.”
He added this included “illegal migration from the African countries to Italy,” as well as illegal migration into Poland, “engineered by the Belarusian regime, which is carrying out a hybrid attack on the EU frontier, along the stretch where Belarus borders Poland.”
The Polish president stated: “We are defending the EU border and we expect more support for the countries that are fighting against this illegal migration, such as Poland and Italy, from European institutions. More understanding from the European Commission and more decisive action by the EU community.”
Meanwhile, Italy’s Mattarella said that Ukraine must be supported “as long as needed” in financial, humanitarian and military terms, as well as in terms of postwar reconstruction.
He echoed the Polish president’s view that "if Russia is allowed to defeat Ukraine, it may attack more countries in the future,“ the PAP news agency reported.
The Italian president also said the EU must treat illegal migration “as a problem for the entire European community” because "no member state can cope with the issue on its own."
Italian president visits Poland
Mattarella is making a three-day visit to Poland, accompanied by his daughter Laura, who serves as Italy's first lady.
They met with the Polish presidential couple in Warsaw on Monday.
Before the two presidents sat down for talks, Mattarella was presented with Poland's highest state decoration, the Order of the White Eagle, for helping develop bilateral ties.
Meanwhile, Laura Mattarella was decorated with the Polish Order of Merit 1st Class, the Polish President's Office announced.
At the same ceremony, the Polish president and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda were each awarded the Italian Order of Merit 1st Class, officials also said.
On Tuesday, the Italian head of state is scheduled to meet with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and attend the March of the Living at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.
Monday was day 418 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl