Sikorski: Poland works efficiently. An example of the evacuation of Poles from the Middle East

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, who is in Taormin in Sicily, told PAP on Thursday that the evacuation of Polish citizens from the Middle East shows that “Poland is working efficiently”. He also noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically appealed to Poles not to visit this region.

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in Taormin in a session with the participation of foreign ministers and their representatives from EU countries and candidates for the Union, organized as part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Messin Conference – a breakthrough step on the road to European integration.

Referring to the evacuation of Polish citizens in connection with the armed conflict of Israel and Iran, Sikorski emphasized that he talked about it with the deputy prime minister and head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani. “He is just starting the evacuation, and we have already done it, so it shows that Poland is working efficiently” – emphasized the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Of course, there may be more people who want to leave, especially from Israel. But also remember that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consistently, categorically called our countrymen not to visit the Middle East, and I would ask the opposition, the media to treat these warnings seriously” – added Sikorski.

“It is like TOPR says: +Do not go to the mountains, because there may be an avalanche +. Yes, we provide help to our citizens, but citizens are also obliged to elementary responsibility” – noted the minister.

In an interview with PAP, Sikorski said that the Israeli-Iranian conflict was not one of the main topics of the meeting in Taormin, about which the information “still flows”. “This is a conference on the roots and the future of the European Union in the place where this union hatched” – he noted.

“At the Mesyńska conference, of course, Poland was not represented, because we were on the wrong side of the iron curtain. It seems to me that it was significant, symbolic and one of the reasons why I wanted to be here: to emphasize that we were not there at the time, and today we are not only, but we are now the presidency of the European Union” – added the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As he noted, this is “a symbol of what today's countries can achieve, mainly from Western Balkans, which aspire” to the EU.

“As a presidency, we have summarized and members (EU) and candidates expect institutional reflection for us, which I also shared” – he emphasized.

When asked about the summary of the Polish presidency in the EU Council, Sikorski admitted that next to the successes there are also “things that we could not achieve”. As an example of success, he indicated the SAFE mechanism, i.e. an EU program providing for EUR 150 billion in defense loans. “Hungarian nephews have blocked us opening the negotiating cluster with Ukraine and Moldova,” the minister added, talking about failures.

Asked to compare the current and previous presidency of Poland in the EU Council, Sikorski replied: “It is a great satisfaction to be able to hold the presidency for the second time and the fact that institutions were created then, such as the European Foundation for Democracy, today they act thriving and are more needed than ever in times when the United States destroys their +soft force +, in particular their influence, in particular their influence, in particular Post -Soviet world “.

He assured that he did not have signals from ambassadors in EU countries as a consequence of the dispute with the president against the background of the nomination. “This also happens in other countries, for example in Lithuania,” noted the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “In addition, the president began to sign” ambassador nominations, “he added.

“I know that when it comes to Italy, first President Andrzej Duda said that Charge d'Affirs Ryszard Schnepf has the wrong ancestors, now (president) Elek (Karol Nawrocki) says that he has the wrong wife. I assess the work of diplomats on the basis of professional, not family premises,” said Sikorski.

“We pursue pro -family policy and therefore I do not intend to demand from the Ambassador Schnepf to divorce himself so that he can stay at the facility” – he added.

Asked if the dispute about ambassador nominations can be resolved 100 percent, he replied that this dispute is “one -sided”. “I can't eliminate someone from diplomacy because someone's ancestor or someone's wife doesn't like it,” he emphasized.

The head of Polish diplomacy said about the new Pope Leon XIV that “he is and experienced when it comes to Latin America, but is also an American.” “I appreciate the fact that he immediately stood on the side of the attacked, fighting for the life of Ukraine, which could not be said about his predecessor (Pope Francis – PAP)” – he emphasized.

He added that “this fantasy about overcoming schism with Russia has been going on for several hundred years and never results from it, and distorts the Vatican's policy towards Eastern Europe.”

In the context of the European Union relations with the United States during the term of office of President Donald Trump Sikorski, he noted: “My doctrine works that every American administration learns Russia and the EU again.” “Of course, they irritate them – just like Russia and China – the fact that we have a common trade policy and we are an equivalent regulatory power when it comes to duty,” he noted.

“I hope that our American allies will understand that US companies are great beneficiaries of the Uniform Market Square throughout the continent (European), otherwise they would have to be dealing with twenty jurisdictions with other regulations. In addition, the Trump administration does not yet use the instruments of joint defense in the field of unfair Chinese practices. We set up a trade. and EU-US technology, consciously modeled on COCO from the time of communism, “said the Polish minister. Cocom, i.e. the coordination committee of multilateral export control operating during the Cold War, gathered 17 Western countries, disposers of the most advanced technologies.

“We can monitor investment and technology flows, production standards. I hope that the United States after some time will come to the conclusion that if China is their rival, maybe some allies could be useful,” the head of Polish diplomacy in an interview with PAP.

From Taormina Sylwia Wysocka (PAP)

SW/ AKL/ Par/