He made the statement in a speech to an annual conference of Polish ambassadors in Warsaw on Monday, state news agency PAP reported.
'Poland’s voice must be heard loud and clear'
Duda told Polish diplomats that “we are at a point in Polish history when we are playing for the highest stakes.”
He added: “At stake is Poland’s standing, security and importance in the coming decades, perhaps even centuries. It’s a time when the issue of the quality of life for the next generations of Poles is being decided, maybe even the future of Poland in general, the future of our nation, the future of freedom, sovereignty and independence.”
Duda told the gathering that “at a time like this, Poland’s foreign service must not be passive; it must be fully committed and proactive, and Poland’s voice must be heard loud and clear.”
He added that “this voice is instrumental in strengthening our security, our international cooperation, our alliances, as well as securing new markets for our products.”
According to the president, recent months have brought a series of events with decades-long consequences, such as “the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the strengthening and consolidation of the NATO alliance, acts of solidarity with Ukraine, the creation of a real perspective for Ukraine and Moldova to join the European Union, and the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over war crimes in Ukraine.”
Duda warned: “As long as the war continues, it’s not decided which vision for the world and for the international order will win.”
He added: “And so the action taken by Polish diplomacy should be such as to make a real contribution towards making Russia pay for its crimes over the coming decades. And towards ensuring that Central Europe, including Poland, can develop for at least several coming decades.”
‘Russia must feel the bitter taste of defeat’
The president stressed that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine “is the number one issue for Polish foreign policy” because “it’s a question of Poland’s security.”
He warned that “for Russia, Poland is a country that will either submit and be dependent on Russia, or be an enemy.” He argued that “Russia has an imperial and colonial mentality that only recognises might.”
"This must end once and for all," Duda said.
He stated: “Russia must feel the bitter taste of defeat to stop viewing the world in this way.”
The president added: “For this to happen, Ukraine must win on the front. Any ‘rotten’ compromise, any attempt to allow Putin to ‘save face’ will only lead to a freezing of this conflict, and leave the Russian public unsatisfied, which will probably cause an outbreak of even bigger violence in the near future.”
Duda added: “And so the aim of Polish foreign policy is to help ensure that Russia suffers a strategic defeat, Ukraine wins, and the spectre of war is permanently removed from our borders.”
He stated that this aim “underpins Poland’s support for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.”
'Strengthening the defence potential of the eastern flank'
The president also stressed the importance of the upcoming summit of the NATO alliance in Vilnius, Lithuania, the PAP news agency reported.
He said Poland’s priorities during the talks would include “strengthening the defence potential of the eastern flank;” “extending the security zone east of the Polish border;” “encouraging NATO allies to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defence;” and “strengthening Poland’s strategic alliance with the United States.”
Duda noted that Poland would preside over the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2025.
“It will be an extremely important period of us,” he said, adding that the Polish presidency would pursue four priorities: “deepening Euro-Atlantic ties; accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU; postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, and a just energy transition,” the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 481 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, tvp.info