China is the only country that could force Russia to end the war against Ukraine – expressed the conviction of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in an interview with Foreign Affairs.
Sikorski talked to “Foreign Affairs” on Wednesday on the margins of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The recording was posted on Thursday on the warehouse website.
The deputy prime minister was asked, among others for a recent invasion of Russian drones into Poland. – We think it was a deliberate provocation. We watched these drones from the moment they were started. The starting point was different than in the case of starts (drones) aimed at Ukraine – said Sikorski.
– We perceive this as part of the Putin hybrid set for NATO testing – he added, reminding about other Russian hybrid attacks in Europe, including Poland. – We feel that we have passed the exam, but we also learned something: we need a system like in Ukraine to deal with this special threat, i.e. drones – he added. He noted that cheaper funds should be used for this purpose than F-35 aircraft.
He admitted that Poland was satisfied with NATO's reaction. – We appealed for (launching) art. 4, i.e. urgent consultations when the country feels threatened. This was started immediately – reminded Sikorski. He also noted that allies gave Poland support in the form of additional air defense and fighters. “Planners must take care of this gap in our defense,” he emphasized.
– So I think this is another disappointment for Putin. He increased our sense of danger, giving us a chance to do something about it – he added.
When asked about the reaction of President Donald Trump, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied: – I wonder what his reaction would be if 21 Cuban drones arrived at Florida. But the distance does not matter. Now he declared that if Russian fighters violate NATO airspace, we would have the right to knock them down. This statement of obviousness, but it's still good that he said it – continued the deputy prime minister.
Commenting on Tuesday's speech at the UN forum, Sikorski said that he would remember them for years. – As a result of his speech and meeting with the president (Ukraine Volodymyr), Zelanski sounded more open when it comes to supporting Ukraine – he added.
When asked about the Polish security strategy, he noted that “Poland did not delegate its sovereignty to anyone.” – So if someone crosses our border with a tank, ship or plane, our army will do what the constitution provides. But it is nice to feel that allies are connected with us in pain. We are glad that 10,000 are stationed with us. American soldiers. We are glad that two weeks ago in the White House we heard that if we want, we can have even more of them. We allocate 15,000 dollars a year for every American soldier. (…) Maintaining them in Poland is cheaper than in the USA. We have good exercise training grounds and their exercise is also cheaper – said Sikorski. “I think we gave (Trump) a good deal,” he admitted in a conversation about 40 minutes.
He also announced that Poland would not send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission for historical reasons. – We have been the same country for 400 years. It would be as if the British (sent soldiers) to Ireland. But we will do everything else to make this operation successful – he declared.
– We need to protect the hub, we need to protect the communication line that is threatened with espionage and attack. I can also imagine surgery in airspace from Polish airports – he said.
He admitted that talks about the hypothetical creation of a peace mission in Ukraine are not as urgent as supporting Ukraine in fighting here and now.
Sikorski also assessed that China is the only country that can force Russia to end the war. – If they told the Russians to end the war, otherwise they would close the border and stop trading with them, I think the Russians would have to follow it. But they don't want to do it – he said.
The deputy prime minister admitted that the war in Ukraine “fits China.” – They earn a lot of money by selling Russian goods. (…) Russia has become much more dependent on China. So China won the vassal – he said. According to him, Beijing would probably not be satisfied if Putin lost power as a result of losing the war. – Due to the competition from the USA, China does not want to be alone – he added.
– I think that if we allowed Putin to take Ukraine and Russia would not have any consequences, the Chinese authorities would think that it would be fine to regain what they consider a rebellious province – said Sikorski, referring to Taiwan.
Sikorski also referred to Ukrainian strokes on Russian refineries. He noted that the attacks could have already affected half of them. – Of course, we do not know how permanent damage is, but information about queues for gas in all of Russia appears – he emphasized. “So this struggle for the first to exhaust the supplies seems to be more even than we expected,” he added.
He said that during talks with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities he heard that they did not expect that weapons could soon be suspended. “They think that you need to be planned for emergency planning, but they are really planning a war with a perspective of three years,” he said.
When asked if he was afraid that Trump annoys the lack of a truce, he replied: “I hope that his colleague Vladimir will make him mock him.” And I hope that President Trump will do what he promised in August, i.e. he will impose new sanctions on Russia – said Sikorski.
From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)
NDD/ MAL/ MHR/
