On 17 March 2022, Minister Zbigniew Rau met with Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain José Manuel Albares Bueno. The talks focused on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its political, security, military and humanitarian consequences in the European and global dimension.

On 16 March 2022, at an extraordinary meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies in Strasbourg, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe unanimously adopted a resolution to exclude the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe as from that day. The resolution states that the Russian aggression against Ukraine constitutes a serious violation of Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, which obliges all member states to collaborate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the aim of the Council.

On 17 March, Poland’s Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro met with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was represented by Secretary of State Piotr Wawrzyk.

On 16 March 2022, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Undersecretary of State Paweł Jabłoński met with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Poland to discuss coordination of international humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. Apart from the deputy head of Polish diplomacy, other hosts of the meeting included Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Bogna Janke, President of the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves Michał Kuczmierowski, and representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.

Today in Paris, during a special session of UNESCO’s Executive Board held on 15-16 March 2022, with Poland as its current member, the Board adopted a decision to unequivocally deplore Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The Executive Board meeting was convened on the initiative of an interregional group of states in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Another group of children arrived in Poland from war-torn Ukraine. Among them are patients from Lviv whose treatment will be continued in Poland, while some children will go to other EU countries to enjoy some rest.

“Peace and security as well as freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted. We have learned this lesson the hard way,” said the Polish Foreign Minister in his address to the UN Security Council.

On 13 March, a delegation of six CDU/CSU members from Germany’s parliament were in Poland, headed by Alexander Dobrindt, head of the CSU parliamentary group. The purpose of the visit was to learn about the situation at the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing points and the organisation of assistance for refugees arriving from Ukraine, as well as discussing the necessary steps to stop Russia’s illegal aggression against civilians.

On 14 March 2022, during the first day of his visit to New York, Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau met with President of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid of Maldives.

On 14 March, Minister Zbigniew Rau met in New York with Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab, chargé d’affaires a.i. of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mission to the UN, which holds the UN Council presidency in March 2022. The meeting centred on Russian aggression in Ukraine and its humanitarian implications.