Warsaw (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasised on Monday that Kyiv must be included in all talks about ending the war in Ukraine, cautioning against permitting Russia to challenge borders with impunity.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke to the Polish press after this weekend’s European leaders’ consultations and noted they “still act together”. He said this ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they are to discuss ways to end the conflict.
Why does Tusk warn against changing borders by force?
Tusk says that
“for Poland and our European partners, it must be clear that you cannot change borders with force,”
And Moscow must not be permitted to benefit from its invasion of Ukraine.
“The West, including European countries, will not accept Russian demands which simply amount to the seizure of Ukrainian territory,”
Tusk states.
He cautions Russia against the notion that it can challenge other nations’ borders without consequence. Tusk also references Polish history to emphasise the principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
“From history we know — and Poland has often been a victim of this — that when the great powers decided about other countries without the participation of those countries in negotiations, the consequences were grave.”
What is scheduled for the August Trump-Putin Alaska meeting?
A planned summit with U.S President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for August 15, 2025, in Alaska, if Trump is to be believed that they will draft a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the summit, confirming that part of the arrangement may include Ukraine giving back territory now occupied by Russia, including parts of eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The idea is troubling many leaders in Europe as well as the Ukrainian government, who argued that the ‘peace’ agreement would have to include Ukraine itself, and they have stated they will not give back territory.
How is Poland engaging with Zelensky on peace discussions?
Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, has continually maintained that Ukraine must be at the epicentre of any resolution process regarding the conflict. He declared that the peace process cannot be successful without Kyiv, and reinforced that Ukraine, Poland and other European nations need solid foundations of security and independence.
Speaking on recent conversations with President Zelensky, Tusk said they were hopeful but sober, and remarked on the need for Poland, as well as other European countries, to actively engage with discussions about a ceasefire and future peace agreements.
