West risks defeat if Russia divides allies and dictates Ukraine peace terms, Polish PM warns
Poland’s prime minister warned on Monday that the West and Ukraine risked losing to Russia if Moscow succeeded in dividing its opponents and imposing the terms of a peace deal.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.Photo: Gov.pl, CC BY 3.0 PL , via Wikimedia Commons
Donald Tusk made the remarks on the X social platform after the latest round of talks between the US and Ukrainian presidents on ending Moscow’s war against Kyiv.
On Saturday, Tusk took part in discussions among European Union and NATO leaders on prospects for ending the war.
After those talks, Tusk said European leaders agreed that security guarantees for Ukraine must be „concrete and certain.”
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Trump’s Florida estate to discuss ways to end the nearly four-year war.
The two leaders later joined a video call with European officials, including Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
„Following night-time talks with the leaders of European countries, one thing is certain: the West and Ukraine will lose this confrontation if Russia manages to divide us and dictate the terms of peace,” Tusk wrote on X.
He added that Washington’s declaration of participation in security guarantees for Ukraine was „a success,” but said the talks were „still far from being finalised.”
Polish leaders must 'speak with one voice externally’: deputy PM
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the latest Trump-Zelensky talks were „much better” than the two leaders’ first meeting at the White House in February and yielded more optimistic signals.
Both Trump and Zelensky said progress had been made toward ending the war.
Zelensky said the two sides agreed on US security guarantees for Ukraine, while Trump said those guarantees were „about 95 percent” settled, though several thorny issues remain.
Among them is Ukrainian-held territory in the eastern Donbas region, Polish state news agency PAP reported. Trump suggested Ukraine should relinquish those areas to Russia.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said continued dialogue was essential and welcomed the involvement of European leaders before and after the Trump-Zelensky talks.
He also stressed the need for Poland’s leadership to present a united front abroad.
„We must speak with one voice externally,” he told reporters, warning that internal political divisions could weaken Poland’s security and development.
The deputy prime minister said the latest talks were a step in the right direction, but added: „Has the objective been achieved? Not yet.”
Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland, said that Sunday’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky in Florida produced some progress but fell short of a breakthrough.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, x.com
