Poland Backs India on Terrorism, Flags Concerns Over Trump Tariffs

Asianet News English

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz underlined a firm stand against cross-border terrorism after meeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi. He said both India and Poland have suffered from such threats, while also expressing concerns over potential trade tensions linked to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Transcript

00:00I'm delighted to be in India again previously in the same capacity in 2011, but first visit

00:07since the establishment of our strategic partnership launched by President Modi and

00:13Prime Minister Tusk in 2024 in Warsaw. I've been to India many times in the past in different

00:22capacities, including on family holidays, and this time not only did I have the honor and the

00:29pleasure of meeting my counterpart, Dr. Jay Shankar, but also of taking part in the world-renowned

00:37Jaipur Literary Festival. Poland and India are both dynamic democracies. We therefore have

00:47many things in common. The level of trade is not yet satisfactory, but we are working

00:52on it and we hope that the negotiations between India and the European Union on a free trade

01:02agreement are concluded successfully to the satisfaction of both India and the European Union and that

01:13the trade flourishes further. We of course discussed pressing problems of our neighbourhood, this

01:20neighbourhood, global affairs, and you can guess what those subjects were. I want to assure

01:28you that Poland and India are countries that are interested in upholding the principles of

01:38international law. Both of our countries condemn the crossing of international borders either by

01:46tanks or by terrorists. Both India and Poland are victims of transnational terrorists and therefore

01:54we condemn it in the strongest terms. Again, I'm delighted to be here again and looking forward to

02:02further developing mutually beneficial relations. Thank you. Thank you so much. So we have time for a few

02:09questions. So please introduce yourselves. Say the name of the agency you're working for.

02:14Well, of course there are differences that come from geography and history. Poland suffered under the communist

02:37yoke in the second half of the 20th century. And before that we were a Russian colony in the 19th century.

02:46India was colonized by someone else. But that colonial experience informs our desire for the world to be run

02:58on the basis of principle on the basis of principle and not the power of the fist. And we understand India's

03:07different size and position. But we still think it's useful to exchange views because both of our countries

03:18desire peace. We hope that President Putin will finally admit that the invasion of Ukraine was a costly criminal

03:30mistake and ends this war which is right now keeping people freezing in Kiev that, you know, in temperatures

03:42that go below zero and a power plant and heating plant being deliberately target, targeted.

03:55So I am confident that India will be among those countries that urge

04:02the perpetrator of this act of aggression towards settling it without further blood bloodshed.

04:13Minister, if I may ask.

04:15Excuse me, excuse me.

04:15Sorry, I can.

04:18Excuse me. Hold on a second, please. One at a time, please.

04:21Okay.

04:21Let's start over here.

04:22Minister, the Excellent Affairs Minister, Jayshankar spoke to you at the Hyderabad House.

04:27In the opening statement, he said that selective targeting of India, be it for the Russian oil

04:32or for the tariff, is something that is not appreciated and there should be no selective

04:36targeting. How do you see those comments coming in from your Indian counterpart?

04:40Well, we have sanctioned Russia, but that was because Russia broke the Budapest Memorandum under which

04:49Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. And Russia broke the border treaty between the two countries,

04:57actually signed by Vladimir Putin, and Russia broke the UN charter by invading another country with

05:03tanks. So in those circumstances, imposing sanctions, in other words, taking countermeasures

05:12by the international community against the aggressor is justified. In many other circumstances,

05:19it is not justified. But trust me, in Poland, in Europe, we know something about targeted sanctions now.

05:25Minister, let's take you on the side now, as well. Same question? Okay, go ahead.

05:30So, I'm Sahil from ANI. Just wanted to know about what was the discussion with your counterpart

05:35regarding U.S. tariffs? What was the discussion and any outcomes that came on?

05:40We don't like them. Okay. Minister? Minister, I'm Lomas from INS. My question is how does Poland

05:47assess the current security situation in Eastern Europe? Well, Poland has historically been invaded by

05:56Russia many times. Russia has taken huge swathes of our territory in the past. So, you know,

06:07I'm one of the European politicians who tried to encourage Russia to be on a convergent trajectory

06:18with the European Union. But that requires living in peace with your neighbors.

06:25And when Russia started invading her neighbors, that ruins everybody's sense of security.

06:34Russia overestimated its capacity to conquer Ukraine and has now been fighting this

06:43bloody war for longer than the Soviet Union fought Nazi Germany. And it's still fighting in Donbass.

06:49And it's taking huge casualties for tiny slivers of territory. So, we hope that sanity prevails in

07:00Moscow and that Russia ends this war. But, of course, that depends on one man.

07:07And in the meantime, unfortunately, instead of spending our money on health systems, on education,

07:14and other desirable things, we are having to spend it on armaments. Poland has the highest proportion

07:21of GDP in NATO of GDP in NATO, 4.7%. We are now, we've created as the European Union,

07:30the safe deck mechanism for retooling our defense industry, 150 billion euros,

07:39of which Poland will be the biggest beneficiary. And we have loaned Ukraine 90 billion euros,

07:47so that Ukraine can sustain its defense for another two years. We hope that Vladimir Putin recalculates

07:55whether he can afford to continue this war for another two years.

08:02Now, out of old sympathy, I want to hear from the statesman of Calcutta.

08:07Do we have the statesman? Please pass on my best regards to the statesman. I used to write

08:15for the statesman in the 1980s. Correspondence, my correspondence from Afghanistan was published there.

08:27Competition, right.

08:28Well, as I said at the beginning, we don't believe that larger countries should be allowed or

08:49encouraged to take over the territories of smaller countries.

08:53So, Poland, along with the majority of the European Union, upholds the principle

09:02of inviolability of borders and of national sovereignty.

09:06Now, let's switch to the left side, please.

09:07Yes, please.

09:08Franziska, I'm the German radio.

09:10All right. Hi.

09:12Our Chancellor was just here last week, and everyone is moving to sign the European trade

09:18agreement next week, as you said. So, what's in for Europe? What is in for countries like Poland

09:23and also Germany in this agreement, which took forever to sign?

09:29Well, you know, when faced with tariffs, the increase in tariffs from some regions of the world,

09:36we seek for new trade partners. And India seems to be willing. And I think we need to demonstrate

09:43to the world that some regions of the world still believe in free trade, which makes you more

09:49competitive and richer. So, yes, we all have sensitivities in some industries. That's inevitable.

09:57But, for example, Indian agriculture and European agriculture are more or less compatible.

10:04We don't make the same things. We don't grow the same products. So, I think there is a there's a

10:10great deal of potential there, particularly in view of the fact that the European Union,

10:16by its very nature, by being a confederation with diffuse powers and the checks and balances

10:25between the member states, the European Parliament and the Commission, we've now become not only a group

10:33of democracies, but a predictable single market. We, in our system, we don't, we can't make the kinds of

10:44sudden turns that you can make in other parts of the world, which I think makes us more attractive

10:51as a trade partner and also as an investment destination.

10:55And we'll take the last question over here, please.

10:57Minister Kesha Parmanavan from the Tring. What was your discussions on the regional politics?

11:02Because I remember you were in Pakistan in October and this was something that the external affairs

11:07minister said in his open remarks. So, can you give us a sense of what was discussed in terms of the

11:12regional politics and the regional situation that India is facing? Well, we all have regional concerns and

11:18we all have neighbors and with neighbors you have opportunities and challenges. So,

11:26yes, we did discuss it. And as I said at the beginning, on terrorism, we are on in one mind.

11:35And of course, we also have concerns. India took part in the Zapat exercises in Russia

11:43that we find threatening. So, I was very glad that we were able to discuss, frankly,

11:49what's on our minds. Thank you so much. Thank you, Minister. Thank you for your time.

11:53Thanks. Goodbye.

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