RIAC-Visegrad-Report22-Eng

RUSSIA AND THE VISEGRAD GROUP:THE UKRAINIAN CHALLENGEthe European Union had to be ready to defend their borders. 126 Europe musttake a consolidated stand. Eurosceptics, “in reality, objectively or subjectively,were playing the role of politicians who were helping Putin in his very dangerousgame,” 127 (by Eurosceptics, Donald Tusk meant the Law and Justice Party, whichconsidered the Eastern Partnership to be a failure). 128In March 2014, given the unanimity among the Polish leadership, a contingent ofU.S. troops and aircrafts arrived in Poland. Meanwhile, Warsaw tried to convincethe European Union of the need to adopt a common policy. As the SecretaryGeneral of Civic Platform Pawel Gras sharply put it, “when you go bear hunting ina dark forest, it is better not to do it alone, but in the company of strong friends.” 129Among strong believers in European unity as the key element in settling crisis,Aleksander Kwaśniewski, also convinced of the key importance of Europeanunity, spoke directly about pressing necessity to create the “common Europeanframework with U.S. involvement”. He also stressed the importance of regionalcooperation with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria. 130At the first stage of the Ukrainian crisis there were practically no contradictingopinions within Polish society. The only political force that fully supported theRussian policy of protecting its population in Crimea was the marginalized Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland Party. The attempts of certain periodicals(Obserwator Politiczny, for example) to criticize the United States and theEuropean Union for being helpless against Russia in the Ukrainian issue weresharply dismissed by the rest of the media.Already after the sanctions have been implemented, Foreign Minister RadosławSikorski voiced Polish stand on the crisis. Addressing the Polish Sejm on May8, 2014, he described Russia’s actions as “violating the principles of peacefulcoexistence of nations”, “legally unacceptable” and “politically unsafe.” 131 As longas Russia went along the rules of the modern society, the minister said, Polandwould follow Tusk’s premise in its relations with Russia – that is, “they are whatthey are”. Poland had to make necessary changes to the partnership with Russiaafter Ukrainian issue arose. After Russia embarked on the path of aggression,Poland made the relevant conclusions. Radosław Sikorski stressed the role ofthe Eastern Partnership as an embodiment of the principles of Jerzy Giedroyc’sprinciples in the given situation, highlighting the geopolitical importance of theprogramme that Vladimir Putin considered “to be the main challenge for hisvision of the post-Soviet order.” 132126Tusk: dobrze, że Polacy martwią się Ukrainą.TVN 24. May 10, 2015.URL: http://www.tvn24.pl/wiadomosci-z-kraju,3/tusk-dobrze-ze-polacy-martwia-sie-ukraina,426853.html (in Polish).127Tusk do PiS i eurosceptyków: Nie pomagajcie Putinowi. Wyborcza. May 9, 2014. URL: http://www.wyborcza.pl/1,75478,15928040,Tusk_do_PiS_i_eurosceptykow__Nie_pomagajcie_Putinowi.html#ixzz3Yb10E0W3;http://www.wyborcza.pl/1,75478,15928040,Tusk_do_PiS_i_eurosceptykow__Nie_pomagajcie_Putinowi.html (in Polish).128Ibid.129Ukraińska pobudka Unii. Wyborcza. May 9, 2014.URL: http://wyborcza.pl/1,75968,15851753,Ukrainska_pobudka_Unii.html (in Polish).130Aleksander Kwaśniewski: Trzeba bić na alarm. Wyborcza. March 3, 2014.URL: http://www.wyborcza.pl/1,75478,15554149,Aleksander_Kwasniewski__Trzeba_bic_na_alarm.html#TRrelSST (in Polish)131The official site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. URL: http://www.msz.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/wiadomosci/informacja_ministra_spraw_zagranicznych_o_zadaniach_polskiej_polityki_zagranicznej_w_2014_roku (in Polish).132In spite of the Ukrainian crisis, the Eastern Partnership continues to develop. The members of the programme will getsubstantial financial assistance, with 11 billion euros earmarked for Ukraine alone. This is only slightly less than the entirebudget of the European Neighbourhood Policy.44 Report 22 / 2015