On Friday, a four-party meeting was held in Berlin with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The meeting discussed the possibility of ending Russia's war against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
Poland provided Ukraine with more war material support than Germany or France. Some would argue that this was more than their combined help, yet Poland was not invited to discuss solutions that would affect it the most. To make it even more interesting, we learned today that Germany blocked Poland's involvement in the meeting.
Foreign and Polish commentators pointed out that the meeting's format was very limited, and it lacked, among other things, a representative of Poland, the largest frontline country.
- Many European experts believe such meetings are a mistake: The old "Quad" format is too narrow for today's Europe and its contemporary challenges. Poland must be there, at least because of its central importance for the security of NATO's eastern flank, comments Edward Hunter Christie, a former NATO official who currently works with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).
Commenting on the situation, Toomas Ilves, former president of Estonia, indicated on social media that he was told that "Scholz personally blocked Poland's participation."
- It is possible that he [Scholz] decided that he would present Germany's interests, and Tusk's Poland would only be informed - said Radosław Fogiel, a Law and Justice MP. - Let me remind you that Prime Minister Morawiecki reminded Scholz of German helmets [as war material help] in front of the whole world.
It is also fascinating that Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who claimed that "no one will outplay him," has not commented on the situation yet.
- Based on reporting by Niezalezna(.)pl and Wpolityce(.)pl
Niezalezna (Independent) is a Polish portal news found at Niezalezna(.)pl.
Wpolityce (In politics) is a Polish portal news found at Wpolityce(.)pl.