Poland Backs Ukraine's EU Accession Talks in Inaugural Diplomatic Exchange

On the first day in office, the new head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, had a phone conversation with his Ukrainian colleague, Dmytro Kuleba, during which they discussed the further strengthening of relations between the two countries and the initiation of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

This information is reported by the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.

"The minister assured that our peoples will always stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight for freedom, supported the European aspirations of Ukraine, and expressed hope for a positive decision by the European Council to start negotiations," the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

In turn, Ukrainian Minister Dmytro Kuleba informed that the parties discussed the upcoming summit of the European Union and Poland's intention to actively work at the meeting to ensure the adoption of "necessary decisions, including the decision to open negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession."

"I spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Radosław Sikorski and congratulated him on his appointment. Minister Sikorski confirmed his commitment to further strengthen Ukrainian-Polish relations, counter Russian aggression, integrate Ukraine into the EU and NATO, and cooperate in other global affairs," Kuleba wrote in his statement.

It is worth noting that, in addition to Kuleba, Sikorski also had a conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavský.

Recall that the day before, Polish parliamentarians elected Donald Tusk as the country's Prime Minister. Previously, he served as Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014.

It is expected that Tusk's government will begin its duties at the end of this week. The newly elected prime minister promised to focus efforts on reforming the judicial system and unlocking the 36 billion euros allocated to Poland by the European Union. Currently, Brussels has refused to provide these funds due to concerns about the rule of law in Poland.

Earlier, in October 2023, the opposition coalition led by Donald Tusk won the election race, receiving over 70%. The coalition includes three parties: the Civic Coalition of Tusk's parties (KO), the "Third Way" and the Left.