A thaw on the Nawrocki-Sikorski line? The government and the president “are moving towards a solution”

The meeting between the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, and President Karol Nawrocki took place in a constructive atmosphere, said Maciej Wewiór, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are moving towards finding a solution to the circumstances faced by both sides; We hope that the effects will be visible in the near future – he added.

The meeting between the president and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lasting approximately one and a half hours, took place on Monday afternoon at the Presidential Palace. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it did not plan a briefing after its completion.

“The meeting between Minister Sikorski and President Karol Nawrocki took place in a good, constructive atmosphere, in the spirit of understanding,” wrote the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the X platform.

“We are heading towards finding a solution to the circumstances faced by both sides. We hope that we will be able to see the effects in the near future,” he added.

The main topic of the talks was to be the staffing of diplomatic missions and ambassadors; according to previous announcements by the KPRP, Sikorski and Nawrocki were also to talk about Poland's possible accession to the Peace Council, a body inaugurated last Thursday by US President Donald Trump during the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos. Nawrocki and the head of Polish diplomacy were also supposed to talk about cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the president.

The dispute between the government and the presidential center regarding ambassadorial nominations has been going on since March 2024. Then the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that over 50 ambassadors would end their mission, and a dozen or so candidacies – submitted for approval by the previous management of the ministry – would be withdrawn. The then president, Andrzej Duda, emphasized that “no Polish ambassador can be appointed or dismissed without the president's signature.” The ambassadors who left their posts but were not formally recalled by the president were replaced by diplomats designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who do not have the status of ambassadors, but charge d'affaires.

President Nawrocki is particularly opposed to the nomination of the current head of the mission in Washington, Bogdan Klich, and Ryszard Schnepf, chargé d'affaires in Italy, as ambassadors. (PAP)

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