Tusk and Babis: War must end without annexations, support for Ukraine to be maintained

Joint position on ending the war

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Government Head Andrej Babis confirmed their readiness to ensure continued support for Kyiv while avoiding excessive financial burden on national economies. This was stated during a joint briefing held in Warsaw on Wednesday.

According to Donald Tusk, both countries seek the earliest possible end to the war. Although the approaches of Warsaw and Prague to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may differ in details, their views coincide on key issues.

«Ми дуже хотіли б якнайшвидшого миру в Україні. У деяких нюансах наші підходи до російсько-української війни можуть відрізнятися, але щодо найважливіших питань ми маємо однакову позицію. Цю війну потрібно якнайшвидше завершити без анексій, без спроб позбавити Україну суверенітету. Усе має ґрунтуватися на чесних принципах і забезпечувати тривалий мир» (We would very much like peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. In some nuances, our approaches to the Russian-Ukrainian war may differ, but on the most important issues we have the same position. This war needs to be ended as soon as possible without annexations, without attempts to deprive Ukraine of sovereignty. Everything must be based on fair principles and ensure lasting peace), the Polish prime minister emphasised.

Balance between aid to Ukraine and own finances

Donald Tusk noted that Poland and the Czech Republic share a common understanding of the need to maintain aid to Ukraine, as without it Kyiv would have no chance of success. At the same time, the leaders of the two states are seeking mechanisms to organise this support that will not lead to significant losses for their economies and budgets.

Cooperation in security and cyber defence

The importance of cooperation between Warsaw and Prague in the fields of security, defence industry, and cyber defence was separately emphasised. According to Donald Tusk, both countries share a similar assessment of the threats facing the region and are interested in jointly preventing diversions and sabotage.

Coordination within the EU: budget, climate, and migration

The Polish prime minister reported that the Czech Republic and Poland plan to coordinate their positions on the European budget, funds, and the climate policy of the European Union. In particular, the parties seek to jointly achieve changes in approaches to the ETS emissions trading system and its extension ETS2, so that spending on climate policy does not undermine the competitiveness of their economies.

The leaders of the two countries also expressed a joint position on illegal migration. Donald Tusk called on Western European states to more actively protect the external borders of the EU.

Economic relations and further consultations

Speaking about the economic aspect of cooperation, Donald Tusk noted that the Czech Republic is the second most important partner for Polish exporters. The volume of Polish exports to this country amounts to almost 100 billion zloty (over 22 billion euros), with this figure having grown by more than 60% over the last five years.

Donald Tusk and Andrej Babis also agreed to make efforts to hold intergovernmental consultations with the participation of the prime ministers and ministers of both countries by the end of the current year.