The US has asked Poland to clarify Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's earlier statement that Poland is not currently providing military assistance to Ukraine.
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| Poland is one of Ukraine's staunchest military allies. (Source: Polish Prime Minister's Office) |
Ukraine's European Pravda website quoted a senior US defense official as saying on September 23 that Poland remains committed to supporting Ukraine, but Warsaw's exact position remains unclear. According to the Pentagon official, the differences between Kiev and Warsaw have not yet caused a split in the unity of the alliance supporting Ukraine.
Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder, at a press conference on September 21, stated that it is a "sovereign decision" for any country to decide how much support it will give to Ukraine. He also emphasized that Poland is one of the leading countries in providing aid to Ukraine, not only security aid, but also humanitarian aid, supporting millions of Ukrainian refugees.
Meanwhile, a diplomatic source in Europe said Polish diplomats had privately assured foreign partners that Warsaw would continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, even if on a smaller scale.
According to the source, the loss of support from Poland could be detrimental to Ukraine's military campaign as it threatens to undermine the unity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), of which Poland is a member.
The comments came shortly after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unexpectedly announced on September 20 that Poland would stop providing military aid to Ukraine to focus on re-equipping its army.
The statement was made amid tensions between Warsaw and Kiev over Poland's unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products and Kiev's retaliatory measures.
The Polish government later stated that Warsaw was currently only delivering weapons and ammunition in accordance with previous agreements, including contracts signed with Ukraine. The Polish president later clarified that Prime Minister Morawiecki's statement had been misinterpreted.
Until recently, Poland was one of Ukraine's strongest allies. Poland has supplied Ukraine with a wide range of weapons, including T-72 and Leopard tanks, armored vehicles, fighter jets, howitzers, and ammunition.
Some say Poland's decision is partly influenced by next month's election, which could be a way for Poland's ruling party to appeal to voters who oppose aid to Ukraine.
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| Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks at a press conference on the results of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23. (Source: AFP) |
In another development, at a press conference on September 23 on the results of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the 10-point proposal put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
“It is absolutely unworkable,” he said of the peace plan being pushed by Kiev. “It cannot be done. It is unrealistic and everyone understands this, but at the same time, they claim that this is the only basis for negotiations.”
“With the negotiations in March and April 2022, everything was started. But two days later, Bucha happened,” said Russia’s top diplomat.
So now, when referring to the negotiations, Mr. Lavrov quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin's comment when he affirmed that "we are ready for negotiations, but we will not consider any ceasefire proposals, because we considered it once, but we were deceived."
Foreign Minister Lavrov also said that there was no evidence of Russia using Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Ukraine, so there was no point in discussing the corresponding statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He also said the UN proposal would fail because the West had failed to deliver on promises to Moscow, including lifting sanctions on a Russian bank and reconnecting it to the global SWIFT system.
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