Ukraine was high on the agenda in talks between Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Toronto on Friday (June 2). "Poland and Poles, and by governments, we are deeply involved in supporting Ukraine," Morawiecki said at a press conference after the talks. "At the top of our agenda was the Kremlin's brutal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, which has redrawn the security landscape of Europe after decades of peace and prosperity," Trudeau stressed at the briefing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki met in Toronto on Friday. This was Morawiecki’s first official visit to Canada since taking office in 2017. The two leaders held a joint press conference.
"To thank you and all the Canadian friends for all what you are doing to support Ukraine and to restore peace. In my part of Europe, this is critically important; however, not only for Europe, but I believe it's critically important for the new geopolitical order," Morawiecki said.
Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest allies, playing a leading role in persuading sometimes reluctant allies to provide it with heavy weaponry, much of it supplied through Poland.
"Over the past year and a half, the world has become sharply polarized and Russia has contributed to this enormously. And in that context, it's worth emphasizing that transatlantic cooperation has assumed the importance it has had during the Cold War," the Polish PM said.
"Poland and Poles, and by governments, we are deeply involved in supporting Ukraine. First on the military front, in terms of military equipment and organizing weapon delivery through our major hub in Rzeszów in the south eastern part of Poland we started the Leopard Tanks Coalition, and yesterday in Moldova, I spoke to several prime ministers from the European Union and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about training pilots for F-16 fighter jets, in order for the Ukrainian troops to be able to fend off the Russian aggression, to defend from Russian attacks," he explained.
Trudeau: Poland and Canada work together to help Ukraine
Canada has also been a strong backer, providing military support to Ukrainian troops who are receiving training in Poland.
"At the top of our agenda was the Kremlin's brutal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, which has redrawn the security landscape of Europe after decades of peace and prosperity," Justin Trudeau said at the press conference.
"Canada and Poland are working together to train members of the armed forces of Ukraine. Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are in Poland right now, training them through Operation Unifier, Canada's training mission that since 2015 has trained over 36,000 Ukrainians. Poland is also where CAF members have been training Ukrainians to operate Leopard Two tanks.
Earlier this year, we deployed Canadian Armed Forces members to support a Polish led Advanced Medical Skills Training Program for Armed forces of Ukraine personnel. And just last week, we deployed more CAF trainers as part of a new round of military support to Ukraine."
"Energy security is an urgent issue for Poland and countries across Europe. Like minded countries around the world are working to build stable relationships with partners who have values that align so we can build resilient supply chains. This is about energy security, yes, but it's also about economic opportunities and the economy of the future. A net zero economy. Canada is ready to be the supplier of energy that a net zero world will need."
"Extremely significant growth in trade between the two countries and connections as opposed to economy is growing and this ties across the Atlantic are deepening economically is very, very good news as well."
Poland supports Ukraine's NATO accession
In Toronto, Morawiecki also supported Ukraine's quick accession to NATO.
"Poland is advocating for relatively quick accession of Ukraine to NATO. But we understand that not all the member states of NATO are in agreement with this. This is why we would want to discuss this, how to present a reliable and viable and and credible path for Ukraine to NATO, that's first," he said.
"Before that happens Ukraine would need to get some security guarantees because Ukraine is fighting for not only its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also for the stability of the entire Europe and peace in the entire Europe."
Poland has NATO's longest border with Ukraine and has been the main route in for weapons and out for refugees.
The Polish public overwhelming supports Ukrainians in their war with Russia. An Ipsos poll said 82% of Poles think NATO and European Union countries should back Ukraine until it wins.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters