Good morning and thank you, dear Radek [Sikorski, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland]. I just returned from my last visit to Ukraine.
I made a stopover here, in Warsaw, because Ukraine has been a top priority during my political mandate. It has also been a great priority for Poland, to manage and to bring the European support for Ukraine to an unprecedented level – although much more needs to be done.
Dear Radek, Poland has been always at the forefront of the European Union efforts to give Ukraine what Ukraine needed for its self-defence. Poland remains a key country to make this much-needed support continue – a support that Ukraine needs at this critical moment. As you said, Radek, there are critical situations in the battlefield, and Russia continues pushing.
There is a diplomatic situation in the world, which has been accentuated by the fact that there is a new scenario with the new American President. This creates a situation in which the Americans, from one side, and the Europeans, from the other, have to take the decision [whether to continue] supporting Ukraine to face the aggression of Russia. As you said, we cannot allow Putin’s victory.
At the next Foreign Affairs Council, on Monday [18 November], we have to study – when I will present to you and to our colleagues how the situation is [in Ukraine] – what are the needs of the Ukrainians to continue defending [themselves]; which are the prospects of a possible decision taken by the United States in order to continue, or not, its support; and how the Europeans can respond to such a situation.
We cannot be in a situation where the United States acts, and the Europeans react. We have to take our own responsibility. We have to reassure Ukraine that our support will continue.
This, in order to continue, requires measures. It requires determination. It requires a new will, and it mainly requires financial resources – nothing is possible without financial resources. In a moment in which there are other needs and there are other financial constraints, as climate change, or digitalisation, many issues require financial resources.
But the war in Ukraine is an urgent issue. It can be measured in terms of weeks, maximum months, before it is clarified if the Western support to Ukraine will continue and how we will continue defending Ukraine against one aggressor – which is fully committed to continue pushing to get the military objectives for which Putin launched the war. These objectives for Putin continue being the ones that he wants to achieve through military action.
So, I stopped over in Warsaw because I know that here, I could have a meeting with one of the most determined countries and Ministers on supporting Ukraine and discuss about what we, Europeans, are we going to do Europeans and how we will present at the next Foreign Affairs Council this situation.
Thank you.
Q&A
Q. What will be the new security architecture in Europe in the context of transatlantic relations, Ukraine and new President of the United States of America, Donald Trump?
It is not a matter of building a new structure. This would take too much time, and we do not have so much time. We can use what we have. The important [thing] is to make the system work, and it is important to make the flow of financial resources available and increase it. When I see that we have been discussing for months about how to make the European Peace Facility work in order to pay 6 billion euros; when I see the difficulties in order to solve a small question, a small [one] compared to the needs that will be required in order to continue supporting Ukraine, I understand that it is not a matter of structural systems. It is a matter of political will for using what we have. This is where the solution will have to be found: using political will to make the system work, because we do not have time to build another system. In Poland, you know very well, you have been encouraging all partners in Europe to look for solutions to continue supporting Ukraine on several occasions. This is a particular occasion, and we have to raise all question marks about the continuity of our efforts and about our capacity to complement, to increase, in order to see what we can do about our great ally, the United States. We cannot continue for months and months with the question mark pending without giving a clear answer to the Ukrainians.
Q. You are just coming back from Ukraine. I would like to ask to ask you – because we understand President Zelenskyy is about to pitch his plan to President-elect Trump – can you tell us a bit more about the plan? What is being currently discussed? Secondly, you also said – if I understand correctly – this week the Defence Ministers are about to meet because you want to discuss what Europe could do more for Ukraine. Also, do you see high level of mobilisation among the European leaders? We all know that the contribution to Ukraine has not been equally among the members of the European Union. So, is this something more about to happen?
Well, I do not have the role of President Zelenskyy. He will do whatever he understands he has to do in his discussions with President Trump. My role, and the role of the [EU] Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers – who will be meeting on Monday and Tuesday [in Brussels] – is to study the situation and take decision on our own capacities, and to show the will to continue supporting Ukraine in such circumstances where there is a new President of the United States who has – it seems – a different approach to the American support to Ukraine. I do not know what Trump is going to do – nobody knows. The Biden administration will be still [in office for] two months before leaving. But what I know is that Europeans need a clear understanding of what they want to do in any circumstances. Whatever the scenario, we have to have an answer. We cannot continue saying: “We will support Ukraine” without having an agreement that this will be done in any scenario. We have to consider a scenario in which our support has to be increased. How, how much? To finance it; how? These are the question that, I think, at this moment, the European Union Member States have to discuss and try to look for an agreement. And that is what the Foreign Affairs Council is for. That is what the [Foreign Affairs Council for] Defence is for, to build a common security and defence policy. These particular circumstances make it more needed than ever.
Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-263837