WARSAW – Czech President Peter Pavel was received in Warsaw by his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda with traditional military honors. Pavel arrived at the Presidential Palace at 11:00 a.m. with his wife Eva, and after a joint meeting laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Polish-Soviet War. He also met Speaker of the Sejm Elžbieta Witekova and President of the Polish Senate Tomasz Grodzky. At a press conference after the meeting with Pavlo, Duda said that Poland would hand over four MiG-29s to Ukraine in the coming days.
The visit to Poland will be Paolo’s second foreign trip since his inauguration last week. First, he was in Slovakia on Monday and Tuesday. While the presidential couple traveled to Bratislava by car, they flew to Warsaw on government special because of the distance.
Upon arrival at the Presidential Palace, Duda and his wife greeted Pavel and his wife in front of a mounted military unit. The ceremony includes national anthems of both countries and a small military parade. Pavel also congratulated foreign diplomats. This was followed by a meeting of the two presidential couples, a private meeting of the presidents, meetings of national delegations and a press conference.
Pavel arrived in Poland, and Duda received him with military honors
16.03.2023, 11:00, author: Karel Čapek, source: ČTK/Video
A week after his inauguration, Pavel visited Poland. He confirmed a trip before the election in response to a statement by his opponent, Andrej Babiš, who questioned Czech aid during a military attack on Poland and the Baltic states. He reiterated his desire to visit Poland after the election when he met Duda at a security conference in Munich.
At the press conference, the presidents said they discussed economic cooperation, improving transport links, the upcoming NATO summit and energy. Duda praised how quickly Pavel arrived in Poland after his inauguration. According to Pavle, the relationship between the two countries has never been better than it is now, and he also sees the influence of the war in Ukraine as helping to realize the value of cooperation.
Regarding Ukraine, Pavel said during an evening meeting with Czech journalists that the Czech Republic must seriously engage in its post-war reconstruction. “Just as we were serious about supporting Ukraine during the war, we must be equally active in post-war reconstruction. This represents a great opportunity not only for Russia to return to Ukraine after the devastating war, but also for our companies,” he said. President. According to him, it would have been better to draw up a recovery plan for Ukraine in the future, where the participation of individual countries in various projects would be indicated. “We have more plans ready … less confusion and room for black holes,” he said.
In the afternoon, Pavel laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the participation of an honorary military unit. This was followed by lunch with the Speaker of the Sejm, Elžbieta Witekova, and a meeting with the Speaker of the Senate, Grodzky.
The President of the Czech Republic met with a group of comrades at the Czech Embassy in Vaclav Havel Square, met with representatives of Polish-Czechoslovak unity and had dinner with Duda.
Pavel will stay in Poland until Friday, when he will meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and visit the European border agency Frontex. The delegation will then fly to Rzeszów Airport in the east of the country. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, it has served as a transfer point for military aid provided to the country by Western countries.
The First Lady has a slightly different agenda. During Pavel’s meeting at the Presidential Palace, he and Dutt’s wife Agatha Kornhäuserova-Tutova visited the Royal Castle and had lunch together.
Poland will hand over four MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine in the coming days
In the coming days, Poland will hand over four MiG-29 supersonic aircraft to Ukraine. Duda made the announcement at a press conference after his meeting with Paolo. In total, Poland has ten machines at its disposal, which in the past it took from the arms of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). Poland will deliver other machines after Ukraine’s service and repair. According to Duda, militants are active.
“First, in the next few days, we will hand over four planes to Ukraine,” Duda said. “The rest are being prepared and they are being served,” he said.
“We hope and expect that other countries that have these aircraft at their disposal will follow this decisive step and an example of a real contribution to the protection of Ukrainian skies,” said Olena Kondratyukova, deputy speaker of the Ukrainian parliament. Notice He thanked “Polish brothers and sisters”.
The question of whether to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since last February, has been settled by Kiev’s allies almost since the start of the war. Poland already delivered its Soviet-designed fighter jets last March and has repeatedly discussed the delivery, but some NATO allies are taking a cautious stance. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said today, according to Reuters, that the discussion between Kyiv’s allies is still ongoing.
Responding to the new announcement, the White House said Warsaw’s move “doesn’t change anything” in the U.S. position, which has so far refused to provide fighter jets to Ukraine. “It’s not on the table,” presidential office spokesman John Kirby said, AFP reported. White House President Joe Biden said in late February that providing Kiev with F-16 fighter jets was out of the question “for now,” adding that the Ukrainian military “doesn’t need F-16 ownership.” Now”.
In an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, Czech President Petr Pavel said that supplying the Ukrainians with new fighter jets is not a priority because even if someone decides to do so, the jets will not arrive until next year. According to him, this process cannot be accelerated in practice, and the MiG-29s already used by the Ukrainian Air Force are in play. “However, there are very few countries in Europe that continue to use this type of machinery and can hand it over to Ukraine,” Pavel pointed out.
This week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki talked about delivering the fighter jets, however, within a time frame of four to six weeks. Along with Poland, Slovakia previously wanted to hand over its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, where the government held discussions on Wednesday. According to Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nada, no decision has been made yet, pending further information from the partners.
Poland, one of Ukraine’s biggest backers, has in recent months urged other allies to supply modern tanks. Samo recently delivered 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
Pavel and Duda discussed the economy, transport, the NATO summit and energy
Duda noted that the completion of the transport link via Czech T11 and Polish S3 will create an important link between the two countries, facilitating the Czechs’ access to the Baltic Sea and helping trade. Given Pavlo’s rich experience in security matters, the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July was the main topic of the talks, the Polish president added.
The presidents also talked about energy security. “We talked about the development of the port in Gdańsk and possible supplies through this port to the Czech Republic and a network of gas pipelines from Poland,” Duda noted. Pavel added that the war in Ukraine clearly shows the strategic risk of dependence on Russia. “I am glad that the Czech Republic has been able to reduce its dependence to zero in the short term. One of the important alternatives is the terminal in Gdańsk and the Stork II gas pipeline. I am glad that we find common ground here. With the Polish side,” he added.
Duda called Pavel’s visit to Poland immediately after his inauguration as a great inspiration for developing relations. He appreciated his visit to Warsaw immediately after his regular visit to Slovakia. Pavel stressed that cooperation between the Czech Republic and Poland is at a high level. “Probably throughout history, our relations have not been as good as they are now. This is certainly due to the war in Ukraine. We realized the price of cooperation with friends and allies,” he stressed.
In addition to transport links, Pavel, for example, sees potential for improving cross-border relations. He identified as crucial how the entire region could cooperate in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. “It’s going to be a big opportunity for economies, and it’s important how we align interests in the spirit of a common higher goal. Especially the interests of our companies, they don’t compete where we have the potential to achieve. So much together,” Pavel said.
Duda noted the important role of both countries in supporting Ukraine so far. “We have no doubt that Ukraine should be a part of the European Union. It is our great political goal to join the Union,” he said. According to him, the country offers enormous potential in agriculture, natural resources and industry. He sees a bright future in relations between the Czech Republic and Poland, with cooperation in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
