Unity against common threats. Mateusz Morawiecki’s visit to Lithuania – Kurier Wileński

2023-05-03 18:07:13

On May 2, i.e. on the Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki paid a visit to Vilnius. He met with representatives of the Lithuanian authorities — President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. He also took part in an event particularly important for the Polish community, i.e. the opening of a new wing of the Polish Cultural Center in Vilnius.

The head of the Polish government began his visit to Lithuania with a visit to Rossa, where he laid a wreath at the Mausoleum of the Mother and the Son’s Heart, also paying homage to the Polish soldiers buried there. In this most frequented part of the cemetery in Stara Rossa rest Polish officers and volunteers who died in the battles for Vilnius in 1919-1920, as well as soldiers of the Home Army who died during Operation Gate of Dawn in 1944, as well as those who, such as Sergiusz Kościałkowski or Czesława Wyrwasówna — they continued to fight after the beginning of another Soviet occupation. The Prime Minister also visited a place of particular importance for the memory of all the nations that once constituted the Republic of Poland — the chapel of the January Insurgents.

| photo. Marian Paluszkiewicz

Safety issues first

Mateusz Morawiecki’s meeting with Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė was an opportunity to discuss, among others, bilateral relations and economic, energy and infrastructure cooperation. The heads of government of Lithuania and Poland also discussed the Russian aggression against Ukraine, how to strengthen defense policy and how to react to the military threat that Russia is manifesting today.

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“We meet on the eve of May 3 – the Constitution Day of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – an important day for Lithuania and Poland. It reminds us of the ability of free citizens and nations to unite, of the will to strengthen and defend the state when freedom itself is threatened. Today, much stronger and with a large group of like-minded allies, we face a similar challenge: to help Ukraine, which defends not only its and our freedom, but also democracy and a rules-based world order against Russian aggression. Russia seeks a long-term confrontation with NATO and we must continue to strengthen our regional defense and deterrence capabilities. I hope that thanks to the joint efforts of Lithuania, Poland and the allies, the important decisions necessary for this will be taken at the summit of the alliance in Vilnius, said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė after the meeting with the head of the Polish government.

“It is impossible to imagine Vilnius and Lithuania without Poles”

The Prime Minister drew attention to the importance of unity in ensuring compliance with the sanctions imposed on Russia, which “has already been demonstrated many times” and cooperation in the field of defence. “Without a safe Lithuania there can be no safe Poland and vice versa,” Šimonytė said.

Referring to the planned opening of the new wing of the DKP, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of the Polish minority and the contribution of Poles to the construction of modern Lithuania. “It is impossible to imagine Vilnius and Lithuania without Poles. It is important that they have the opportunity to develop their culture, language and traditions. It is important that the Polish and Lithuanian communities living in both countries can continue to properly nurture their culture, language and tradition,” stressed Šimonytė.

Mateusz Morawiecki’s speech during the press conference was also focused on defense issues. “We know perfectly well that if we want peace, we must prepare for war,” stressed the representative of the Polish authorities.

“We talked about joint military exercise initiatives. We also did not succumb to various provocations that took place before and during the war. We talked a lot today about how Russian propaganda is influencing the situation, and also how it is trying to change public opinion in the West. Here, the role of Lithuania and Poland is enormous,” said the head of the Polish government.

According to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, the role of Poland and Lithuania is also “enormous” in terms of shaping public opinion in the West, and it is important “that we speak with Lithuania in one voice, which is a significant strengthening of Poland’s voice on the international arena,” Morawiecki stressed.

“We know the price of freedom”

Speaking about the difficult periods that Poles and Lithuanians have experienced in recent centuries, he pointed out that both countries have shown that they do not intend to succumb to the judgments of history.

“We survived totalitarianism, Soviet totalitarianism, but today this Russian imperialism is rearing its head again, and that is why our joint actions with other Central European states and the Baltic states are so important,” Morawiecki said.

The head of the Polish government also emphasized that it was Poland and Lithuania that showed vigilance in terms of energy security. “While others fantasized about the end of the story, we knew challenges were just around the corner. We warned against Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2, about what could happen. Only after the fact did it turn out that we were right, and others made serious mistakes as to the assumptions on how to cooperate with Russia,” he said.

“Lithuania and Poland have experienced this Russian imperialism, we have also experienced threats from other parts of the world, we know perfectly well the value of freedom. There is one lesson for Poland and Lithuania from history – we will either be united or be subjected to enormous pressure from our neighbors – the Russian neighbor with whom we want to live peacefully, but what Russia has been doing in recent days, in recent years, we can see perfectly well, said the Polish Prime Minister.

The upcoming NATO summit

During a one-day visit to Vilnius, the Polish Prime Minister also met with President Gitanas Nausėda. According to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the meeting was focused on joint infrastructure projects, security issues and the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.

Let us recall that Morawiecki also referred to the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in the interview for “Kurier Wileński” preceding his visit: “First of all, we focus on better cooperation in the field of defense, the possibility of a faster response to threats within NATO. Not only Lithuania, but the entire eastern flank of NATO will benefit from a strong Polish army. Already in July, Vilnius will host the NATO Summit. In the face of the Russian attack on Ukraine, this summit takes on gigantic significance. This is the time to show not only the allied unity so far, but above all courage in deterring Russia. Prior to the Pact, important decisions regarding, among others, defense spending and the future of the eastern flank. This time with the participation of a new member of the alliance – Finland. It’s great that Lithuania will be the host,” the Prime Minister of Poland told “Kurier Wileński”.

An event of particular importance from the perspective of Poles in Lithuania was the opening of the new wing of the Polish Cultural Center in Vilnius with the participation of the Prime Ministers of Poland and Lithuania. The report from this event will be published in the Saturday issue of “Kurier Wileński”.