We are living in the most critical moment since the end of World War II. The next two years will decide everything, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in his first interview with the press after taking office, UNN reports citing the PAP.
Details
Tusk calls for "mentally getting used to the threat of a new war" and preparing for it.
"We are living in the most critical moment since the end of World War II. The next two years will decide everything
According to him, there is no reason why Europeans should not respect the fundamental principle and spend at least 2% GDP on defense. The Polish Prime Minister also admits that he understands why not all countries want to adopt the Polish model. "We spend 4% on defense, but I know that our security situation is more complicated than in Spain or Italy. But 2% of GDP should be there. I don't understand how this can be questioned," the Polish prime minister said.
Tusk emphasized in the interview that our main task should be to protect Ukraine from Russian invasion and preserve it as an independent and integral state. "The future of Ukraine is basically in our hands. I am not talking only about Poland or even the EU, but about the entire West. It depends on us whether Ukraine will manage to avoid pessimistic scenarios. Today, its situation is much more difficult than a year ago, but it is also much better than at the beginning of the war, when Putin's soldiers were on the outskirts of Kyiv," the head of the Polish government said.
He noted that the war in Ukraine may have to be considered in the long term. "This means more and more new responsibilities for European countries. It is in our interest to keep Ukraine in the best possible condition. Everyone in Poland knows this, and it is not subject to discussion," Tusk said.
Regarding Polish-Ukrainian relations and the dispute over the opening of the EU market to Ukrainian food products, the Polish Prime Minister said: "We want to help Ukraine as much as we can. But at the last summit in Brussels, I argued that the idea of free trade with Ukraine needs to be remodeled. I want a fair deal, I want to find a common denominator for the interests of Ukraine, Poland and the entire EU," Tusk said, as quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza.