Ukraine: surprise visit and symbolic speech by the Polish President in kyiv
Audio 01:16
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the right, and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, at a press conference after their meeting in kyiv, this Sunday, May 22, 2022. AP - Efrem Lukatsky
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Surprise visit by the Polish President to kyiv, this Sunday, May 22.
Andrzej Duda met Volodymyr Zelensky and spoke to the Ukrainian Parliament.
A symbolic speech during which he recalled Warsaw's support for Ukraine and the historic rapprochement between the two nations.
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With our correspondent in Warsaw,
Damien Simonart
This is a new sign of Poland's commitment to Ukraine.
The Polish president was in kyiv on Sunday.
A surprise visit announced last night.
Andrzej Duda met Volodymyr Zelenski in the morning, then spoke in the afternoon before the Ukrainian Parliament.
It was the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24 that a foreign leader delivered a speech in person to the deputies in the capital of the country.
“Ukraine needs our signal”
“
Ukraine is not dead yet!
“Launched Andrzej Duda, in Ukrainian, from the start of his speech to the applause of parliamentarians.
This is the beginning of the national anthem of Ukraine.
Some predicted that kyiv would fall in three days.
But it did not fall in three days, nor in 33 days, nor in 83 days.
Because she won't fall, she won't fall!
I have no doubt about that.
For thirty minutes, he hammered home that only Ukraine had the right to decide its future.
He also regretted that "
voices have recently been raised in Europe asking that Ukraine accept certain demands of Putin
".
Because the Ukrainian president is actively campaigning for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Today, Ukraine needs our signal that the door to Europe is open.
The decision to give Ukraine EU candidate status already at the June 23-24 Council has a very important psychological and political significance.
A historic milestone between the two countries
It was President Andrzej Duda's third visit to Kyiv this year.
The first took place on February 23, on the eve of the start of the war.
The second in April.
The Polish president was then accompanied by his Baltic counterparts;
in particular, they had gone to Boutcha to see the consequences of the Russian aggression.
Relations between the two countries, which have been strained at times since 1945, have warmed considerably since Poland has stepped up on all diplomatic fronts to defend Ukraine.
More than three million Ukrainians have found refuge in Poland since the end of February.
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Relations are now experiencing, with this speech to the deputies, a historic turning point.
Even before Mr. Duda's visit to the kyiv Parliament, Polish observers hoped that this moment could initiate a new political alliance in Eastern Europe.
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Poland
Ukraine
Andrzej Duda
Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia