While in Berlin, Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk held talks with representatives of the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany: Secretary of State Andreas Michaelis and Minister of State Katja Keul. The talks focused on the current threat of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The deputy chief of Polish diplomacy underlined that Poland has doubts whether we can still count on Germany in the face of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Poland expects a clear message from Germany. Such a message should say a clear “no” to the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, whose operation Russia could use as a tool for blackmail. It should also include a consent to Estonian arms exports to Ukraine.

The diplomats also discussed unresolved issues in Polish-German bilateral relations, with war reparations as the most important matter. For Poland it is still open and requires a serious dialogue. Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk stressed that the German side needs to urgently comply with treaty provisions, particularly by granting Poland’s most important requests regarding the Polish community in Germany. He pointed to the fact that for years the German side has ignored its obligations to ensure a financing mechanism for teaching Polish as the mother tongue in Germany. The deputy minister also expressed Poland’s expectations for more rapid progress in the renovation of the Polish House in Bochum. Moreover, the deputy chief of Polish diplomacy met with members of the German Bundestag, Dietmar Nietan (SPD) and Alexander Lambsdorff (FDP).

In Potsdam, Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk met with Minister-President of Brandenburg and the federal government’s coordinator of German‑Polish intersocietal and cross‑border cooperation Dietmar Woidke (SPD). The deputy head of the Polish MFA thanked Minister-President Woidke for his personal contribution to building Polish-German relations based on truth, the sense of responsibility and mutual respect, as well as for strengthening the Polish-German Youth Exchange and supporting the development of border areas by improving the local transport infrastructure.

During his meetings, Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk expressed his hope that it would be possible to organise two important formats of Polish-German talks this year, i.e. intergovernmental consultations and the so-called Polish-German Round Table.

MFA Press Office