On the sidelines of the debate, Minister Sikorski held a number of bilateral meetings, including with his counterparts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Morocco, Mauritania, Rwanda, and the United Arab Emirates. The talks provided an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations and key international challenges.

Minister Sikorski also attended a series of multilateral meetings, including a meeting of EU foreign ministers (FAC), a meeting of G20 foreign ministers with other UN members, and a meeting of transatlantic foreign ministers. The latter was held at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

During the meetings, the chief of Polish diplomacy emphasised the need for further support for Ukraine over Russia’s invasion. He stressed that Ukraine’s Peace Formula is the only viable proposal for peace, and that freezing the war is not an option. He called for Ukraine to be allowed to defend itself effectively, including by attacking military targets within Russian territory. Minister Sikorski accented the colonial nature of Russian invasion, saying that no one can feel safe in a world where we accept the primacy of force in international relations. Furthermore, he outlined the goals and challenges ahead of Poland in connection with the country’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of next year. In view of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the head of the Polish MFA reiterated the need to respect humanitarian law and Poland’s commitment to a two-state solution.

A UN Security Council meeting of 24 September on the situation in Ukraine was the key event with Minister Sikorski’s participation. He focused on denouncing the Kremlin’s false propaganda regarding Ukraine. Poland’s chief diplomat pointed to the Russian practice of abducting children from Ukraine and compared it to German actions during World War II against Polish and Soviet children. He also recalled the fact of Soviet cooperation with Nazi Germany in 1939.

The programme of Minister Sikorski’s New York visit included a meeting with representatives of the American Jewish Committee, a discussion with members of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as a meeting with Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), over this UN agency’s soon-to-be-opened office in Warsaw and its involvement in supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction process.   

 

Photo: Barbara Milkowska/MFA