President Andrzej Duda criticizes Donald Tusk’s past actions on Russia, questioning his sudden anti-Russian stance. “Where was he in 2015?” Duda asks.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has openly questioned Donald Tusk’s past actions regarding Russia, highlighting what he calls hypocrisy in Tusk’s current anti-Russian stance. “Today, we hear grand declarations about security, but in my opinion, this is hypocrisy,” Duda stated in an interview with Super Express. He pointed out that during Tusk’s tenure as President of the European Council in 2015, when Crimea was already annexed, and Donetsk and Luhansk were under Russian control, Tusk did not take meaningful action. Instead, according to Duda, Western European nations, including Germany, continued pushing for Nord Stream 2, increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian gas.
A Questionable Track Record
Duda also recalled earlier moments in Tusk’s career, questioning his response to Russian aggression in 2008 when “Russian tanks were heading toward Tbilisi,” as well as in 2012 when “he agreed to strengthen cooperation between Polish and Russian intelligence services.” The Polish president argued that there was no sign of an “anti-Russian front” from Tusk at the time. Now, with U.S. policy shifting under Donald Trump and Europe rallying support for Ukraine, Duda questions whether this change is genuine or simply an effort to push the U.S. out of European security matters.