“One can applaud the fact that Donald Tusk is actually acknowledging what reality looks like: that the Americans do not want to talk to him for some reason. I think we all know, among other things, what that reason is. The way he has addressed Donald Trump and his administration has not helped his effectiveness,” assessed Paweł Jabłoński, a member of parliament from Law and Justice.
On Sunday, a videoconference crucial to regional security took place with the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and leaders of European states. Poland, in line with the constitutional powers of the head of state to represent the country in international relations, was represented by President Karol Nawrocki. In a statement, the Chancellery of the President reported that the talks concerned efforts to bring the war to an end. President Nawrocki emphasized Donald Trump’s commitment to the peace process and Poland’s strategic role, including through the hub for assistance to Ukraine in Rzeszów-Jasionka.
However, the fact that it was President Nawrocki, rather than Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who represented Poland in the talks sparked frustration in the prime minister’s circle and gave Tusk himself a pretext for anti-American attacks. A member of parliament from Civic Platform, Roman Giertych – a trusted associate of Donald Tusk and the legal representative of Tusk himself and members of his family – also launched an attack not only on the Polish president but also on the president of the United States. He claimed that President Nawrocki’s invitation by the American leader constituted “interference in our internal affairs” and called it “sheer insolence.”
He called Trump a “Russian agent.” Now he is “surprised” by Washington’s stance
Yesterday, the final cabinet meeting of Donald Tusk’s government took place this year. Ahead of the meeting, the head of government boasted that he had taken part that day “in high-level talks on ending the war in Ukraine.” He said the participants included European leaders, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the heads of European institutions, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. However, there was no representative of the American side, even though the main peace negotiations are being conducted with the participation of the Donald Trump administration.
Tusk sought to argue that “full cooperation of all institutions which, in one way or another, are constitutionally responsible for international actions is very important in this context.”
He reported that he had received “detailed information from President [Nawrocki] about his participation in the conversation with President Trump and other leaders – after the meeting in Mar-a-Lago.” He added that “we will also share precise information from our meeting today and our talks with European leaders.”
He then launched an attack on the Donald Trump administration, pointing out that it prefers contacts with President Karol Nawrocki – rather than with his government.
“It just so happens, and you all know why, that President Trump’s administration prefers contacts with the president. In Europe, the government is of course recognized as the main partner. Let us draw conclusions from this, and we must coordinate our actions here very precisely,” Tusk said. The seemingly enigmatic suggestion “you all know why” is in fact a clear signal to Tusk’s most radical supporters: the “bad” U.S. president prefers to deal with the “bad” Polish president rather than with the “European” Tusk.
Jabłoński: it’s hard to be surprised
Donald Tusk’s remarks were commented on today by former deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński.
As he assessed on Radio ZET, “one can applaud the fact that Donald Tusk is actually acknowledging what reality looks like: that the Americans do not want to talk to him for some reason. I think we all know, among other things, what that reason is. The way he has addressed Donald Trump and his administration has not helped his effectiveness.” He added that “it is something of a paradox that many European leaders, also critical of Trump, have nevertheless been able to establish relations with him. And Tusk not only failed to do so, but keeps making those relations worse. He keeps posting some strange entries on social media, antagonizing Americans for reasons that are unclear.”
In his view, “it is hard to be surprised in such a situation that the Americans are able to call and say they do not want to talk to Tusk and prefer to talk to President Nawrocki.”