Polish PM urges Türkiye to take larger role in Ukraine peace talks

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he had made “historic progress” with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he met in Ankara on Wednesday, and that he had tried to persuade the Turkish leader to play a role in achieving peace between Ukraine and Russia.

“I approached President Erdoğan with a clear proposal that Türkiye should take on as much joint responsibility as possible in the peace process,” Tusk said.

Tusk’s visit to Ankara followed a meeting on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia between Ukrainian and US officials, where the two countries agreed on a 30-day emergency ceasefire proposal, provided Russia accepts it.

“Türkiye and Poland want a just peace to be achieved. We all know what a just peace means. We see the results of the first phase of the talks between our American and Ukrainian friends, which ended in Saudi Arabia, in the same way,” Tusk said.

Erdoğan also advocated for “a just end” to the war, declaring that they were ready to provide a venue for peace talks and to provide any assistance possible.

The President of Türkiye underlined that European Union membership remains Türkiye’s strategic goal and that the bloc should accept Türkiye as a full member to “avoid loss of power and importance.”

Tusk said that Warsaw would work “to make the European perspective more and more viable for Türkiye and to be taken seriously by all partners in Europe.”

Türkiye has the second largest army in NATO, while Poland is the third largest power.

Poland has the largest defense budget in the alliance as a percentage of its gross domestic product and is spending billions of dollars to modernize and expand its military.

Tusk also said that Poland is ready to cooperate with Türkiye “both in defense and in the defense industry.”

Erdoğan stated that he and Tusk exchanged views on regional issues, including Syria and Palestine, along with “developments regarding the future of European security.”

Noting that he found Ukraine’s acceptance of the ceasefire “positive and important,” Erdoğan said that he now hoped that Russia would “respond constructively” to this step. “Our hope is that our region will get out of the predicament it has been in for a long time, and achieve peace and stability,” he said.

Stating that Türkiye and Poland are partners in the field of defense industry, Tusk described the relations between the two countries as “cooperation between two very strong partners.”

Tusk emphasized that he was sure that they would work together to rebuild Syria, adding, “Of course, Türkiye’s role in the reconstruction of Syria and ensuring stability cannot be denied.”

Pointing out that the relations between Poland and the US are good, Tusk said that he hoped that these joint efforts would be accepted by many common countries.