The Friday talks between Minister Rau and his counterparts Gabrielius Landsbergis and Dmytro Kuleba were held in the form of a video conference. It was another meeting at this level since the establishment of the Lublin Triangle in July 2020.

The diplomats discussed activity plans for the Lublin Triangle. They agreed that the initiative should remain a platform for reinforced dialogue on current topics in regional and European policy.  The officials identified areas of work for subsequent regular meetings at the level of ministers of foreign affairs as well as of deputy ministers acting as national coordinators. They also put forward concrete proposals for establishing mechanisms of trilateral cooperation on countering disinformation and hybrid threats, and discussed the possibility of organising the Lublin Triangle meeting at the highest level. Minister Rau noted that broadly understood public diplomacy could be a particularly valuable area of intense cooperation within the Triangle, encompassing youth cooperation, training new staff for political and social life, as well as joint initiatives to highlight positive events in the common history. In this context, the initiative to set up a joint think-tank by Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic states will be analysed.

A detailed agenda of Triangle’s work will be drafted by national coordinators. It will be approved at the next ministerial meeting. The Ukrainian side informed that the three Eastern Partnership countries which signed association agreements and free trade agreements with the EU, that is Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, strengthened their cooperation considerably, and announced that it will soon present more details concerning plans in this area.

The diplomats also discussed the Crimean Platform initiative. Minister Rau affirmed Warsaw’s support for this format, in accordance with the joint declaration of Polish and Ukrainian presidents of 12 October 2020. Kyiv confirmed the intentions to hold the Crimean Platform summit in 2021.

The meeting also focused on the crisis in Belarus and the issue of support for Belarusian civil society. “We would like to have a free, democratic and independent Belarus as our neighbour. It is vital for our three countries and for the whole Europe,” emphasised the chief of Polish diplomacy.

The ministers discussed the issues of hybrid threats and disinformation by Russia, as well as the current situation concerning Russian aggression against Ukraine. They expressed their expectation that Moscow will adopt a constructive attitude at fora discussing the possibilities of resolving the conflict in Donbass. The chief of Polish diplomacy drew attention to the continued violations of human rights and international law on occupied territories.

The diplomats also talked about current challenges concerning the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and deliveries of vaccines to the EU and the Eastern Europe. Minister Rau reaffirmed the willingness to support Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans countries with respect to vaccine deliveries.

Similarly to the previous trilateral meeting, much attention was given to prospects of EU policy towards the Eastern European countries with particular focus on the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit. The officials also spoke about the region’s cooperation with the new US administration under President Joe Biden.

The next meeting of the Lublin Triangle will be hosted by Lithuania.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA