Poland Wants to Help Set Europe Agenda 04/25 06:06

   Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told parliament on Thursday that 
the government wants to return to the group of countries which sets the agenda 
of the European Union, laying out the government's vision at a historically 
crucial moment with war across the border in Ukraine.

   WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told 
parliament on Thursday that the government wants to return to the group of 
countries which sets the agenda of the European Union, laying out the 
government's vision at a historically crucial moment with war across the border 
in Ukraine.

   He warned that a Russian attack on NATO would end in defeat for Moscow, but 
NATO must increase its defenses.

   Ahead of the speech, the foreign ministry said Sikorski's vision was closely 
aligned with that of French President Emmanuel Macron, who was also laying out 
his ambitions for Europe to be a more assertive global power in a speech on 
Thursday. Senior Polish officials have welcomed Macron's outspoken support for 
Ukraine but also want Paris to increase its deliveries of military aid.

   Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has waged a hybrid war against 
Poland, including with disinformation, Sikorski charged. He said Russia was 
lying when it falsely claimed that Poland seeks to annex parts of Western 
Ukraine around the city of Lviv that once belonged to Poland.

   Speaking in Ukrainian, he said: "Lviv is Ukraine."

   Sikorski's speech was devoted to describing the new direction of the 
government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took office in December.

   Sikorski sought to explain how Poland's priorities changed after Tusk's 
government replaced a national conservative party, led by the Law and Justice 
party, in respect to rule of law and international relations.

   Among those attending the speech was President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned 
with Law and Justice, as well as members of the diplomatic corps in Warsaw who 
listened to the speech from the parliament's gallery.

   The government is also asserting its right to define Poland's international 
policies as Duda has recently been acting against its wishes. Duda recently met 
with presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and expressed 
hopes for hosting NATO nuclear weapons.

   Law and Justice led Poland from 2015 to 2023, and while it stressed ties 
with the United States, it had a conflicted stance toward the 27-member EU and 
in particular toward Germany, which invaded and occupied Poland during World 
War II.

   Sikorski stressed the importance of friendship with Germany, saying that the 
period of confrontation under the previous government had ended.

   "Differences of opinion, however, do not mean that we are doomed to eternal 
conflict. Germany is our democratic neighbor, our largest trading partner, an 
important European actor, and a key ally in NATO. Warsaw and Berlin need each 
other," he said.

   Sikorski argued that Poland's development and security should be based both 
on trans-Atlantic cooperation and on European integration, and that it is also 
ready to take responsibility for global challenges.

   Sikorski's speech was directed at both the world and the domestic audience 
in the nation of 38 million people located along a geopolitical fault line.

   Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union, is on the eastern flank of 
both and shares borders with Russia and Belarus in addition to Ukraine. It is a 
key hub for Western weapons going to Ukraine.