Polish FM: close ties with US, revising Weimar Triangle key amid Russia threat

Poland must maintain close ties with the US, and the Franco-German-Polish Weimar Triangle must be urgently revived, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told parliament on Thursday, noting that NATO as a defensive mechanism would withstand a Russian attack on its members and result in defeat.

Sikorski gave his annual foreign policy speech, focusing on the challenges resulting from NATO from the Russian threat, the need for Poland to keep close to the US and the urgency to revive the Weimar Triangle.

“It is not us, the West, that should fear a confrontation with Vladimir Putin,” he said, adding that he did not intend to threaten Russia, as NATO is a defence alliance, “but to show that an attack on any NATO member would result with (Russia’s) defeat.”

In the face of new challenges, Europe must improve the quality of its defence cooperation, including through the European Sky Shield initiative and by exploring other possibilities related to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, Sikorski said.

According to the foreign minister, the Kremlin’s main issue with the EU is the values it represents.

“The Russian authorities are frightened by the fact that the former members of the Soviet Union like these values”, he said, adding that Poland is ready to cooperate with a “non-imperial, pro-European and democratic Russia”.

Much of the minister’s speech was devoted to criticising the previous PiS (ECR) government for its difficult relations with both the European Union and other countries and to emphasising the role of the transatlantic partnership.

“A good relationship with the US reinforce Poland in Europe, while being active at the EU stage and good relations with neighbours make us a more attractive partner in the eyes of the American allies.”

This does not mean subservience to the West, and the government should conduct diplomacy with “assertiveness without shouting”, Sikorski said, referring to the PiS’s frequent argument that Poland should not cede its sovereignty to other powers.

EU enlargement to require treaty changes

Sikorski also touched on the EU accession process for Ukraine and Moldova, stressing that this would be largely possible thanks to the Eastern Partnership, which Sikorski launched with Sweden in 2009.

Enlargement, however, would most likely require changes to the EU treaties, according to Sikorski.

Last but not least, Sikorski mentioned regional cooperation, emphasising the role of the Weimar Triangle and reducing the importance of the Visegrad Group.

The Weimar Triangle, a format involving Poland, Germany and France, is among the priorities listed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government, the minister said.

The Visegrad Group, on the other hand, “should only be a tool for cooperation in areas where the member countries have similar interests”, such as energy infrastructure, transport or strengthening the Schengen external borders.

The change of power in Poland last December somewhat revived the Weimar Triangle after eight years of the PiS government, which was known for its generally negative attitude towards Berlin.

Tusk, on the other hand, has always advocated close cooperation with Germany, which was a source of ridicule for PiS and its voters, who accused Tusk of being an agent or servant of former chancellor Angela Merkel.

On the other hand, the Visegrad Group, which was the PiS government’s preferred regional format, is now increasingly divided over the countries’ differing positions on the war in Ukraine and cooperation with the Kremlin.

Sikorski, who served as defence minister in the PiS governments of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz and Jarosław Kaczyński (2005-2007) and as foreign minister in the previous Tusk government (2007-2024), returned to his old post after Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO, EPP), backed by allied parties, returned to power after last October’s parliamentary elections.

His experience and reputation make him a strong candidate for the EU chief diplomat position or, if the post is created, as EU defence commissioner.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)

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