In response to Radosław Sikorski’s petty attack on Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau, editor Michał Rachoń published an embarrassing document from 2007 that exposes the submissiveness of the then (and now) foreign minister toward Russia.
It began with a BBN post quoting the president’s spokesperson, who stated that “Prof. Cenckiewicz holds valid security clearances for all levels of classified information – this is the position of President Karol Nawrocki.” To this, in his characteristic arrogant style, Radosław Sikorski replied: “Then let him show his NATO certificate. And while he’s at it, his professorship nomination.”
Michał Rachoń reacted instantly, reminding everyone of a compromising document on Sikorski’s policy. “Every time I see Radek Sikorski eloquently talking about his insightful and anti-Russian stance, I go back to the ‘Reset’ archive. Here is one of the fundamental documents. A report sent home after the first reset meeting with Lavrov in Brussels,” wrote Rachoń.
An embarrassing note from 2007
The document shared by Rachoń is a cipher telegram dated December 7, 2007, sent from the Permanent Representation of Poland to NATO in Brussels to President Lech Kaczyński and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. It describes the meeting between Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The opening sentences are shocking. It reads:
“We agreed on the need for a new opening in Polish-Russian relations, including the launch of a consultation mechanism at various levels covering the entire range of bilateral relations. […] For my part, I emphasized that the new government would seek to de-ideologize Polish-Russian relations. I reminded him of the goodwill gesture, which was the withdrawal of Poland’s objections to Russia’s accession negotiations with the OECD.”
Particularly disturbing is the passage on expert talks about local border traffic. “We agreed that in the first quarter of next year, experts would meet to discuss the possibility of a bilateral agreement on local border traffic. Lavrov stressed great interest in the subject due to Kaliningrad,” the document reads.
Sikorski not only accepted Russian conditions but even took the initiative. “I pointed to the significant, also social, expectations in Poland for concrete results of the warming in relations with Russia,” wrote the then foreign minister.
Later in the note, we read about Lavrov’s proposal that “the planned rich calendar of visits and consultations” would provide “an opportunity not only to improve the climate of mutual relations but also to resolve at least some of the disputes.” Sikorski welcomed this proposal with enthusiasm.
Sikorski – the king of resetters
The note recalled by Michał Rachoń is, of course, only a fraction of what Sikorski did to foster rapprochement with Russia. As Donald Tusk’s foreign minister, he repeatedly (even after Russia’s aggression against Georgia) promoted the idea of inviting Russia into NATO. “Russia is needed to solve European and global problems. Therefore, if it met the conditions, it could be in NATO,” said Radosław Sikorski yesterday, reported Gazeta Wyborcza in March 2009 in an article titled “Radosław Sikorski: Russia in NATO? Why not.”
In 2010, Sikorski wrote in a supplement to Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Russia should not be excluded in advance from NATO’s enlargement process. “Its membership could bring stability and security to regions that so far have had neither,” declared Poland’s top diplomat.
Meanwhile, on December 19, 2013, as Ukrainians protested on the Maidan against binding their country to Russia, Radosław Sikorski welcomed the Russian foreign minister in Warsaw. The two ministers signed the declaration “Program 2020 in Polish-Russian Relations” on “deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.” The agreement assumed that by 2020, Poland’s relations with Putin’s Russia would be flourishing.
Frustration of the foreign minister?
Through his desperate attacks on Prof. Cenckiewicz, Minister Sikorski only demonstrates how frustrated he must be with the distance shown to him by the U.S. authorities. Just a few days ago, on September 6, a humiliating recording went viral in the media, showing the deputy prime minister running around the White House lawn while delivering pretentious remarks at his political opponents. The video sparked a wave of mockery and embarrassment, with many commentators highlighting the undignified behavior of Poland’s top diplomat.
It is also worth asking whether Sikorski himself did not initiate the idea of prosecuting Donald Trump for meeting with Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, as suggested in a recent Gazeta Wyborcza article. The daily reported that Cenckiewicz, allegedly deprived of access to classified information, took part in Trump’s secret meeting with Polish officials. The opening of this article caught the attention of Arkadiusz Puławski, who from 2007 to 2022 was a member of the State Commission for Investigating Russian Influence on Poland’s Internal Security. “How are we supposed to understand this lead? That Americans, including the head of state, who spoke with BBN chief Sławomir Cenckiewicz, can be prosecuted in Poland for violating the Polish law on the protection of classified information and risk 5 years in prison?” asked Puławski on platform X.