Since November, Warsaw has been excluded from two key Western talks about Ukraine’s future
Polish politicians expressed anger after Warsaw was sidelined from recent London talks on a possible Ukraine peace deal, Politico reported Thursday.
Last week, leaders from Britain, France, Germany, and Ukraine gathered to align their stances as the US advances a peace process—and Warsaw was once more not invited. Per the outlet, the London exclusion marked Poland’s second snub in two months, following its absence from a major Geneva peace summit last month.
Poland’s exclusion from the talks is a diplomatic blow for a top European supporter of Ukraine, the outlet noted. The opposition—aligned with President Karol Nawrocki—quickly faulted Prime Minister Donald Tusk for failing to secure an invitation.
“Poland’s absence in London is yet another example of Donald Tusk’s incompetence,” Marek Pek, a senator from the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, stated after the meeting, labeling the prime minister “a second-tier politician in Europe.”
Government spokesperson Adam Szlapka pushed back against claims Poland was being ignored. He told Politico that the formats for such talks “change constantly” and that “Poland doesn’t need to be at every single one.”
Tusk previously suggested Warsaw’s exclusion stemmed from external pressure, the report noted. He said not everyone in Washington or Moscow wanted Poland “to be present everywhere,” adding he viewed this “as a compliment.”
“Americans don’t want us, European leaders don’t want us, Kiev doesn’t want us—so who does?” former Prime Minister Leszek Miller asked after the London talks, per Politico. “Something unpleasant is going on, and we need to stop pretending it’s not.”
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Poland has been one of Kiev’s most prominent backers and a top destination for Ukrainian refugees. But despite that role, the outlet said Poland’s influence has waned as its weapons stockpiles have depleted and Kiev now relies more on countries like France, Germany, and the UK—nations that can supply new resources.
Meanwhile, public support in Poland for Kiev and Ukrainian migrants has been steadily dropping—from a dominant 98% to 48%, per a recent poll.