Poland should be included in talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
Tusk made the call after the leaders of Britain, Germany and France met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in London on Sunday and said they supported ceasefire talks.
Tusk's absence from the talks in London has raised questions in Warsaw about whether Poland is being excluded from the process as Western European powers try to steer Kiev towards talks with Moscow in the near future, Reuters notes.
„I am... very cautious about the ideas emerging in Western Europe about starting some kind of dialogue or "talk with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin about Ukraine as soon as possible," Tusk told a news conference.
Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and its eastern neighbor in the more than four-year-long war against invading Russian forces, providing financial and military assistance to Kiev. Poland is also emerging as one of the biggest defense spenders in NATO.
In a joint statement on Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Zelensky's call for an end to the war and a proposal for direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia with the active participation of the United States and Europe.
Tusk also expressed dissatisfaction with the "E3" group, which includes Britain, France and Germany, but not Ukraine's other European allies.
"I spoke with (Italian) Prime Minister (Giorgia) Meloni, who is not thrilled with the existence of this format," the Polish prime minister said. "Any agreements in which Poland is not involved will not be binding on Poland."
Tusk said that "in the coming days" a meeting will be held on the issue of Ukraine, in which Poland and Italy will participate, as well as Great Britain, Germany and France.