Poland to hold back on new Ukraine aid commitments, PM says
Donald Tusk (Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Warsaw will refrain from making new financial commitments to
support Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, Polish Prime Minister Donald
Tusk said on July 3.
Tusk told reporters that the Polish government has already informed President Karol Nawrocki, who will represent the country at the summit, of the position, Polskie Radio 24 reported.
He said the upcoming summit should clarify European countries’ responsibility for their own defense and how it will be financed, while stressing that Poland is not withdrawing support for Ukraine.
“I urge the whole delegation to be careful about any statements promising further financial support from Poland — not because I believe Ukraine does not need financial aid, but because Poland has very significant responsibilities along the entire eastern border of the European Union, and everyone should take that into account,” Tusk said.
“Ukraine is fighting, but Poland bears the main burden of defending our border and also protects Europe’s border from threats from the east, and therefore it must have special treatment.”
Tusk added that good Polish-Ukrainian relations are in both countries’ interests but require “good will from Kyiv.” “It can no longer be the case that Warsaw constantly demonstrates good will,” he said, while urging that a firm stance on further aid not be interpreted as contempt or hostility.
The policy announcement comes on the heels of a crisis in relations
between Kyiv and Warsaw which reignited old WWII-era quarrels over history
after Ukraine named one of its military units after the Ukrainian Insurgent
Army (UPA).
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