Poland and Estonia willing to help Ukraine negotiate EU membership

Poland and Estonia are ready to offer necessary aid to Ukraine in its future EU membership negotiations, the Polish foreign minister has said.

“Estonia is a close partner of ours, with whom we share a community of goals in foreign and security policy. I am glad that we speak with one voice on so many issues, and I look forward to the continuation of fruitful cooperation,” Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau stressed after meeting with the head of Estonian diplomacy Urmas Reinsalu.

The main topics of the conversation were bilateral cooperation, security in the region, the situation in the eastern neighbourhood and cooperation within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative. The ministers gave a positive assessment of Polish-Estonian relations, pointing to the high dynamics of political dialogue. They confirmed mutual openness to close cooperation, both in bilateral format and in the forums of regional and international organizations. 

The main thread of the conversation was Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its consequences. The ministers stressed the need to build deterrence and defence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank and to expand sanctions against Russia.

“We believe that the decision to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine is the best strategic choice, both for Ukraine and the European Union,” Zbigniew Rau said after a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu in Warsaw on Friday.

Ukraine received the EU candidate status in late June, together with its neighbour Moldova.

Rau also said that the two countries had been offering political, diplomatic and military assistance to Ukraine so that it should not be left alone in its struggle against the Russian aggressor.

He also stated that both Poland and Estonia considered it necessary to continue and strengthen sanction pressure on Russia, and to bring to justice all persons responsible for the war crimes committed in Ukraine.