Authors: Mikołaj Woźniak, Konrad Falkowski Map design: Natalia Matiaszczyk
December 13, 2023, was the day when a new government was formed in Poland under the leadership of Donald Tusk. The position of Minister of Foreign Affairs was taken by Radosław Sikorski – among others. former Minister of National Defense in 2005-2007, then Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2007-2014, and Speaker of the Sejm for one year (2014-2015). The head of Polish diplomacy took up his new position in a difficult period – a period when Ukraine is finding it increasingly difficult to resist Russian attacks, and Europe is increasingly feeling the growing threat emanating from the Kremlin. Therefore, analyzing the visits, meetings and conversations conducted by Sikorski with foreign partners seems to be a noteworthy and accurate undertaking in order to demonstrate the priorities of Polish foreign policy and its dynamics.
In order to present the above topic more clearly, three maps have been prepared, which are a visualization of the following issues: foreign visits of Minister Radosław Sikorski, visits of representatives of states and international organizations in Warsaw, and telephone conversations and video conferences of Minister Radosław Sikorski. And in this order the results and, at the end, conclusions of the analysis conducted by the team of the Institute of New Europe will be presented.
Foreign visits of Minister Radosław Sikorski
In the period from December 13, 2023, to April 23, 2024, Radosław Sikorski made 26 visits outside Poland, during which he met and discussed with representatives of Polish foreign partners, and also participated in meetings of international organizations, especially the European Union, and delivered his speeches.
Sikorski chose Kyiv as the destination of his first official visit. It took place on December 22, 2023. This choice was not accidental, as it was an expression of solidarity between Poland and its new government with Ukraine in the war with Russia, which was particularly important and symbolic when one recalls the issue of tense relations earlier caused by the dispute over Ukrainian grain. During this visit, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the political elite of the fighting Ukraine. First of all, he talked to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. In addition, he had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of National Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and the head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov. During the talks, the Polish representative expressed support for Ukraine and presented new proposals for bilateral cooperation.
Radosław Sikorski’s next, very important foreign visit was his trip to the United States from February 23 to 26, 2024. Sikorski started it relatively with a bang because of his speech at the UN Security Council. It concerned the issue of the war in Ukraine and confronting the words spoken by the Russian ambassador to the UN. Later, the head of Polish diplomacy in Washington first met with former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and then with current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. During the conversation with Blinken, the issue of Poland’s cooperation with the US in the military sphere and sanctions against Russia was raised. In the meantime, Sikorski also gave a lecture at the forum of the American think tank Atlantic Council entitled “Three steps to victory”.
It is also worth emphasizing that, in addition to participating in the meetings of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, Radosław Sikorski also took part in meetings within two more local formats, which are the Weimar Triangle and the Visegrad Group. On February 12, 2024, the head of Polish diplomacy met in Paris with his counterparts from France – Stéphane Séjourné – and Germany – Annalena Baerbock. The talks focused on strengthening cooperation between the countries of the Weimar Triangle. As for the Visegrad Group, on March 21, 2024, Sikorski met with the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The main theme of the talks held then was to develop directions for multi-faceted support for Ukraine.
Visits of representatives of states and international organizations in Warsaw
In addition to his foreign travels, Minister Radosław Sikorski hosted meetings and conferences with representatives of various countries and international organizations in Warsaw. His first visit, on December 21, 2023, was paid to him by the European Parliament Delegation for Belarus, with which he discussed issues related to upholding the Belarusian issue in the international arena. At that time, the need to support representatives of Belarusian democratic circles in exile and members of Belarusian civil society was emphasized. There was also a discussion on increasing activity for the release of Belarusian and Polish political prisoners (including Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish-Belarussian political prisoner in Belarus) and support for their families in order to prevent the development of the influence of the Russian Federation in Belarus. Shortly thereafter, on January 8, 2024, following the above meeting, Sikorski was visited by the leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Svyatlana Tsichanouska. The conversation reiterated Poland’s position on the Belarusian issue and drew attention to Polish opposition to Minsk’s policies, manifested, among other things, in the rigging of the August 2020 presidential elections.
In Warsaw, representatives of various political structures of North American countries also held talks with Sikorski. From the USA and Canada came: the United States special representative for the economic reconstruction of Ukraine Penny Pritzker, senators from Delaware Christopher Coons and from South Dakota Michael Rounds, and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly. These visits focused mainly on security issues in connection with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and on transatlantic cooperation.
In Warsaw, Sikorski also hosted representatives of international organizations such as the EU, the UN, and the OSCE. Among other things, he met with the representative for foreign affairs and security and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, with whom he raised the subject of comprehensive and long-term political, financial, and military support for Kiev, as well as the accession negotiation process. Moreover, Sikorski exchanged views with several diplomats from European countries, including the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, and the head of British diplomacy, David Cameron. In addition to delegations from European countries, he also hosted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yōko Kamikawa, and the Deputy Prime Minister and head of New Zealand diplomacy, Winston Peters.
Telephone conversations and video conferences of Minister Radosław Sikorski
Since his inauguration on December 13, 2023, until April 23 of this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski has participated in almost 40 telephone and video conferences with representatives of other countries. Until December 21 of last year, Sikorski received congratulations on taking up his new position. Among those congratulating him were representatives of the United States, Ukraine, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Sweden. During these calls, issues of current bilateral and multilateral relations were also discussed, especially with regard to the security of Europe, the war in Ukraine, and the Middle East. The similar situation took place in case of the other telephone conversations, but among them it is worth highlighting the conversations of the head of Polish diplomacy with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chad Mahmat Salah Annafid, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz.
Regarding the conversation with the Chadian minister on February 14, 2024, Sikorski thanked his interlocutor for helping to release the kidnapped Polish doctor and expressed his appreciation for the members of the formation taking part in the search for the Polish woman. The Polish doctor, who was working as a volunteer in Chad, was kidnapped by armed attackers. The incident took place on February 9 this year – she was kidnapped from the Saint-Michel hospital in Dono Manga (southern part of the country), over 400 km from the capital of Chad – N’Djamena. Chadian and French forces were involved in the search operation, while the entire operation was supervised by the Minister of Security of Chad, Mahamat Charfadine Margui. On the sidelines of this conversation, a synthetic review of Polish-Chadian relations was also made. Sikorski also added that Poland sees Chad as a “stable and reliable partner” in the difficult Sahel region.
Another issue worth characterizing was Sikorski’s conversation with Stoltenberg immediately after a Russian cruise missile flew over Poland for less than 40 seconds, targeting towns in western Ukraine. This dangerous situation took place – according to the Armed Forces Operational Command – on 24 March this year, more precisely at 4:23 a.m., at the height of Oserdów village in the Lublin province. During the conversation with Jens Stoltenberg, Radosław Sikorski emphasized that this was not the first such incident, when Russia’s military activity in Ukraine poses a direct threat to the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance. The issue of security of Polish and Allied airspace and ways of strengthening it within the Alliance were also discussed.
On April 2, 2024, the public information was released that an Israeli rocket had destroyed a humanitarian aid convoy of the World Central Kitchen organization. Among the seven volunteers killed was a Polish citizen – Damian Soból. Regarding this tragedy, the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz. Sikorski emphasized that Poland was shocked by the entire incident. He called for an impartial investigation into the matter. Moreover, he announced that the investigation into the Pole’s death was being conducted by the Polish prosecutor’s office, and the accident deserved to be considered as a criminal case. Katz responded to these words that the investigation conducted by Israel “will be independent”. At the same time, he expressed his condolences to the Polish government, the nation and, above all, the family of the volunteer from Poland. He also emphasized that Israel cares about the safety of civilians, and the goal of the Israeli government is to eliminate Hamas, which threatens this safety.
Conclusions
Analyzing the steps and diplomatic moves taken by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski in the form of foreign visits, meetings in Warsaw and telephone and video conferences, one can come to the conclusions that the directions chosen by the new head of Polish diplomacy are characterized primarily by a strong pro-Europeanism based on the pillars of the European Union and smaller formats such as the Visegrad Group and the Weimar Triangle, pro-Americanism, which in turn is based on a deep attachment to the American ally, but also the entire structure of the North Atlantic Alliance. What is more, there is clearly a strong commitment to helping Ukraine on diplomatic forums (e.g. the UN). It is worth adding here that the issue of Belarus is also not unnoticed by Polish diplomacy, as evidenced by the expressions of support and recognition for the Belarusian opposition to Lukashenko. On the other hand, Sikorski does not neglect to protect the interests of the Polish state and the safety of Polish citizens, as exemplified by the kidnapping of a Polish doctor in Chad, the death of a Polish volunteer in the Gaza Strip or the issue of the political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut, who comes from the Polish minority in Belarus. From these conclusions, it can be predicted that this direction will continue to be maintained and developed during the rule of not only Sikorski in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the government of Donald Tusk in Poland. We should expect further support for Ukraine and deepening ties with both the European Union and NATO. It seems right to consider these issues as the three priority goals of Polish foreign policy at the present time.
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