Polish Foreign Minister: It will be hard for EU countries to protect themselves against Russia without U.S. assistance
The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski, stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Europe will have to persuade the United States, led by Donald Trump, to remain committed to its allies. Otherwise, it will be hard for European countries to protect themselves against Russia without Washington’s assistance.
“We need to persuade the United States to stay with us because Europe will not be able to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine without America on its side. We have tried many times to resolve the issue without Americans. Those times were failed European initiatives to consolidate military forces, and now, we returned to NATO,” the Polish diplomat said, ZN.UA reported.
Waszczykowski noted that Europe has taken a deterrence position since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, though, it left the door open for dialogue. However, according to him, Moscow wasn’t willing to talk.
“Whatever we suggested, Russia, rejected it,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated with a complaint. When commenting on the European sanctions, imposed against the Russian Federation, the Polish diplomat noted that there is no need to discuss this issue as the Minsk Agreements has yet to be implemented. That is why there is currently no reason for Europe to lift the economic pressure against Russia, the Foreign Minister asserted.
Also, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, expressed the same opinion concerning the EU sanctions against Russia.
“Russia expects that we will not manage to achieve unity and thus, our common position will collapse due to domestic disputes. However, this hasn’t happened yet, and it won’t happen,” Mogherini said. The EU official assured that Europe will maintain its sanctions against Russia. However, she emphasized that the sanctions aren’t an objective in itself.