Sikorski: Europe has the right to vote in negotiations on Ukraine

It is Europe, not the US, that is paying for the war in Ukraine and that is why we have the right to vote on the arrangements on this subject, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski in an interview for Bloomberg in Munich on Friday. The minister also spoke about the need for greater integration in the EU.

– The United States no longer pays for deliveries to Ukraine. We Europeans pay. This gives us the right to vote on the findings and results, Sikorski said.

He noted that while Europe supports Ukraine both financially and militarily, the US makes money from the war by selling weapons to Ukraine through European countries. – It's a bit strange that we pay for the war and yet we don't always have full information (about peace talks – PAP). So for its part, the United States could recalibrate its approach a bit, he added.

The Deputy Prime Minister argued that sanctions and support for Ukraine are effective, and contrary to the narrative promoted by Russia, it is not winning the war, and continuing the fight involves great costs.

– Wars end in different ways. World War I ended when Germany ran out of resources, and Russia is running out of resources of all kinds, he emphasized.

When asked about the future of relations with the US, Sikorski admitted that they would be different, referring to his conversation with the deputy head of the Pentagon, Elbridge Colby, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

– The US presence in Europe will remain, but to a more limited, more strategically focused extent, a we Europeans must field ground troops. Germany changed its constitution to do this, I was talking (…) about Poland, others must do it to be able to implement their commitments from subsequent NATO summits, he said.

Speaking about the challenges facing Europe, Sikorski drew attention to the need to achieve readiness by the end of this decade in order to deter Russian aggression. He also emphasized that it is necessary to increase European integration so that Europe plays a greater role in the world economy and politics. He argued for the need to create a banking and capital union.

– We are a confederation. The United States started as a confederation and then (…) became a federal state. “Our problem is that what is desirable is politically difficult because we are so fragmented,” he said. – Organizations and countries often change when it is almost too late. Now it is almost too late – added Sikorski.

Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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