One neighboring countries that shares a 300 mile border with Ukraine
is Poland. More than two million Ukrainian refugees have sought safe
haven in Poland over just the past three plus weeks. Poland is also
providing military assistance to Ukraine.
And so how does this frontline country feel about the war next door
for that? We turn to Mark Mark Mark Mark Grabowski. He is Poland's
ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Marco Margo. Margo Godowsky.
Welcome to the news hour. Good afternoon.
President Biden is going to Brussels this week. He's then going to
your country to Poland. What do you hope will come out of those meetings?
I'm expecting a reassertion of all that fast, ironclad alliance.
In terms of our political relations, but also in the military field.
We have always been very, um, very close to each other. I believe
that within NATO, it's very hard to define two countries.
Which would be cooperating so
closely, especially in recent weeks. So I believe that both presidents
President Biden and President Duda will reconfirm
This iron clad alliance which has existed between our countries for
so many years.
But But what is that alliance mean? Right now, In particular, we
know your government is providing support to the Ukrainian military
weapons are flowing from Poland into Ukraine. At what point does
your government worry? What do you do? You worry
That it's good to be helping your neighbor but you don't want to
provoke Vladimir Putin to come after Poland. Uh we have been right
about contemporary Russia and Putin's
Intentions all along and nobody listened. Now we are fully vindicated
alongside our neighbors from the Baltic countries, Romania, the Czech
Republic, Slovak here and many others on the eastern flank who have
always been warning about against
Russia's growing aggressiveness and near and imperial ambitions.
Now we can see in plain view those barbaric parked of terrorism actually
in Ukraine.
By the way, if you a few days ago and you institution was established
in Poland, named after Raphael Lemkin, a famous Polish lawyer and
diplomat who coined the term genocide, and that institution is now
gathering evidence of war crimes.
Committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. So how much can your government
how much more can your government possibly do for Ukraine and not
provoke Vladimir Putin or how much of a concern this is a very important
point because we have to be very cautious, and I can
Only echoed the words of, for example, NATO secretary general
and many other Western political leaders who are warning against
hypothetical potential escalation.
In light of the Russian aggression against your Korean with you should
keep delivering
state of the art weaponry to Ukraine. The American administration
is now talking about
Transferring long range defense systems in Ukraine, which is a very
good sign and a very positive development. Boland is assisting
also Ukraine and discriminatory in crisis. Although Poland is now
our
Reaction with really exceptional and that outpouring of solidarity
and sympathy towards Ukrainians with really remarkable, but Poland
is filling up.
So we are many mayors. Polish citizens now in talks with their counterparts
in Europe about the possibility of relocation of those refugees.
But we are doing our most We are doing.
What we really can to ease up the tension and to
provide humanitarian assistance to all those, as you rightly noted
more than two million refugees who have already arrived in Poland
and I want to ask about that. But I also want to ask you about your
prime minister has proposed a
NATO peacekeeping mission of some nature into Ukraine. But we also
know that NATO pledged back in the late 19 nineties and 1997 that
it would not based permanent troops.
In Eastern Europe. So are you advocating for NATO to change that
policy talking about Russia native founding art, which has already
been violated by Russia, not by NATO. And of course we can.
Argue about the definition of the substantial
trips on the territory of the folk called new NATO member states.
I would like to stress very clearly we are not new.
NATO member states. We are just native member states. And, according
to the Article five of the Washington Treaty, We are obliged both
Poland and the Czech Republic and Germany and France and Spain and
all the other member states of this alliance to defend each other.
So if we see that aggression on the part of one of our neighborhood
neighbors because Russia is
One of Poland's neighbors. We have to be prepared for an escalation
for every plausible scenario just quickly. Do you have any more information
about the nature of any peacekeeping?
Force. It is an preliminary concept a very great idea, not even a
plan an idea And I believe that it could be one of the topics that
the European leaders and NATO leaders will discuss during the upcoming
summit in Brussels. Something else I quickly want to ask you about,
and that is the reporting that everyone knew just a few days ago.
Poland was prepared to send Soviet era MiGs to US NATO base in Germany
that would then be transferred to Ukraine. The US veto that why didn't
Poland bring that up first with the United States before announcing
it. We came up with a very specific proposal because we were under
immense pressure also.
On the part of the American public opinion, but you have to remember
one thing. This is one third of our ethanol of combat aircraft. And
we could not just deplete this arsenal unilaterally and voluntarily,
especially in this troubling situation. But why, Why is that deal
completely dead? Now? The American administration has rejected this
proposal.
I think we can move on and now do everything we can do in order to
keep delivering weapons who create and to help the Canadians defend
themselves against this
unprovoked invasion.
Well, everybody wants to know how that's how that's going to happen,
but just quickly to the important subject of refugees. Your country,
As we said, has taken in more than two million Ukrainians. How long
can Poland sustain this?
I think it requires a common effort to resettle to relocate it in
with refugees
across Europe, we are willing and ready to absorb even more waves
of refugees. By the way, there was fertile ground.
For the absorption of Ukrainian immigrants because before the war,
we had roughly 1.5 million Ukrainian migrants who lived and worked
in Poland and they were integrating into the Polish society smoothly
and I believe this is
What is happening right now? Of course, we would like them to return
to their homes as they would like to return to their homeland after
the war, But and your country expects you can. You can sustain this
for as long as you need to be hard to predict. Of course, we expect
more migrants and other countries ready to absorb them to admit them.
Also in published homes because, as you know
so far has been no refugee camps in Poland, although an overwhelming
majority of those families who fled Ukraine
Have been hosted by Polish families in their homes.
It's been a remarkable scene one of the things, Mr Ambassador, I
want to ask you about you mentioned Obama go that Poland's been on
the front line of Eastern Europe and standing up to Russia. However,
it's also known that your government for in recent years seem to
be wanting to stay on good working terms with Vladimir Putin was
opposing many elements of European unity. Does this war in Ukraine
change that can can Poland ever do business? As you has changed?
It has not changed our attitude.
Towards Russia. But I believe it has changed the attitude of many
other Western countries like Germany, like France, like Italy towards
Russia, I don't think there is a
shred of impossibility of returning to business as usual with Russia
after this war.
Mr Ambassador Marik, Mar Godowsky. Thank you very much for being
with us. We appreciate it.