go to the original language article
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski commented in Brussels on Wednesday on the words of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Russia will not accept foreign troops on Ukrainian territory. “This decision belongs to Ukraine, not Russia,” he noted.
Sikorski, who on Wednesday took part in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) in the European Parliament in Brussels, where he presented the priorities of the Polish presidency, said that “the whole sense of Ukrainian resistance against Russian aggression is that Ukraine decides which foreign troops, if any, should be on its territory.”
This is a comment on Lavrov’s words, who on Tuesday said after a meeting with U.S. officials in Riyadh that Russia will not accept the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. It’s about peacekeeping forces that would guarantee security for Ukraine.
Sikorski, speaking to journalists, also referred to another package of sanctions against Russia, adopted on Wednesday by the ambassadors of the EU member states. It will cover further sectors of the Russian economy, as well as the so-called shadow fleet, which despite sanctions transports crude oil from Russia. As the foreign minister said, this means that the member states are unanimous, which hasn’t always been the case. “This gives additional arguments to those who will negotiate any potential agreement with Russia,” he said.
Earlier, in response to questions from MEPs of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee, Sikorski said that Europe will have to find means to strengthen its defense. As he added, they will have to come from increased financial contributions, from unspent money from other EU programs, or from new borrowing.
“I really like the idea of creating a bank for rearmament,” he emphasized, adding that when creating this institution, it could be modeled on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
He argued that the United States is, in fact, encouraging investment in defense so that Europe does not have to turn to them for help with every matter. “But it costs,” he noted.
When asked how else Europe can help Ukraine, he mentioned providing funds to the Ukrainian defense industry and creating joint ventures with Ukrainians. “They really have the best drones. We must learn from them and buy from them to try to arm ourselves against a conflict that I hope never comes,” he said.
The head of Polish diplomacy also stressed that the EU’s goal should not be short-term solutions for Ukraine, such as a ceasefire that can easily be broken, but a lasting and just peace that will prevent Russia from using this time to rebuild military strength and attack again.
“Russia, President Putin understand the language of force. An agreement with Moscow will be valid and lasting when Russia is not strong enough to break it. That’s why it’s so necessary to strengthen Europe’s political position and military capabilities. We need to create a defense union worthy of its name,” he said.
During the AFET meeting, Sikorski also presented proposals in the field of foreign policy. The first concerned the fight against disinformation.
“We will aim to create a European council for resilience to disinformation. Representatives of NGOs should be included. Its goal will be to protect against foreign interference but also to safeguard our democratic processes,” he said.
As part of the second proposal, he appealed to the EP, the European Commission, and EU countries to increase funding for the European Endowment for Democracy in response to the U.S. cutting funds for NGO activities. (19.02.2025)