The second day of the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik, the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, participated in the general debate ‘United for Europe.’
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President Andrzej Duda emphasized the need to maintain solidarity with Ukraine for as long as necessary. He pointed out that the Council of Europe must support the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova on their path to the EU, and the inclusion of a free Belarus in the European family should be a strategic priority for the Council. He argued that pressure on Lukashenko’s regime must be increased, and efforts should be made to release all political prisoners, including journalist Andrzej Poczobut and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
Despite Putin’s mad war, we must fight to strengthen democracy and freedom in today’s world. I deeply believe that the war in Ukraine will end with the victory of the free world. This will mark a new chapter in the history of the Council of Europe, emphasized the President.
In a brief statement to journalists before the start of today’s session, the President emphasized that it was Poland that initiated military support to Ukraine, providing heavy equipment and Western tanks, and it continues to be part of the coalition providing this assistance. He reminded that our country is at the forefront of nations that provide the most assistance to Ukraine.
He also noted that Poland has a relatively small number of F-16 aircraft but is ready to support the training of Ukrainian pilots. However, the limited number of F-16s we have does not allow us to talk about transferring any parts of them to Ukraine, explained Andrzej Duda.
On the sidelines of the summit, the President met with the President of Iceland Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, and the President of Finland Sauli Väinämö Niinistö. He also had discussions with the President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar.