Caputova Receives Polish President Duda
Bratislava, November 9 (TASR) – President Zuzana Caputova on Tuesday received her Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, with the two presidents discussing the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, migration, climate change, the pandemic as well as issues concerning the rule of law.
Caputova stated following the meeting that she expressed her support for Poland regarding the recent surge of illegal migration from Belarus, noting that she perceives considerations about sanctioning Minsk to be legitimate.
In her opinion, Warsaw has coped with the situation, but it would welcome political support. “Slovakia’s stance [on the matter] is clear, I have once again expressed my support for Poland in this issue. Of course, [Slovakia] is aware of the need to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation on the border,” said the Slovak president.
As for Duda, the Polish president spoke of a hybrid attack in this vein. According to him, the Belarusian state authorities have been transporting thousands of migrants to the border between the two countries.
“We have sufficient resources and manpower to physically protect the border, but we need support on the political level,” he stated, adding that Poland is counting on support from its neighbours, the EU and NATO. Duda claimed that his country is ready to help Latvia and Lithuania with the influx of migrants from Belarus, but, at the same time, he conceded that he’s concerned at possible provocations from Minsk. Nevertheless, the president declared that his country will provide humanitarian aid to anyone who asks for it.
Addressing climate change, the two presidents identified the protection of climate as a common interest. Caputova stated in this regard that Slovakia would welcome Poland committing itself to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Meanwhile, Duda remarked that he’d welcome a discussion on corrective measures in the context of the transformation of economies in order to preserve jobs and maintain people’s standard of living.
Caputova and Duda also touched upon the rule of law in Poland. “We are closely following this issue and we hope that the developments will not have a negative impact as far as European law is concerned,” Caputova said, praising the ongoing dialogue between Warsaw and European authorities. Duda said that he expects the situation to improve and the EU to take an objective view of events in Poland.
