Speech

PM statement in Warsaw: 10 February 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement at a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Morawiecki.

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government
The Rt Hon Boris Johnson

It바카라 사이트™s great to be back in Warsaw, thank you again Mateusz for your characteristically warm welcome.

The reason I바카라 사이트™m here is because Poland is absolutely critical to our collective European security and the lesson of the last 100 years is that when Poland is threatened with instability, or aggression on the borders of Poland, then we are all threatened and we바카라 사이트™re all affected.

And I just want to be absolutely clear, when Poland is threatened then the UK stands ready to help, as indeed Poland has always stood ready to help the United Kingdom.

So I바카라 사이트™m very pleased again to have the chance to talk to you Mateusz, you바카라 사이트™re absolutely right in what you said. Much of what we talked about in November has come to pass and that바카라 사이트™s why earlier today the UK바카라 사이트™s 45 Commando Unit touched down in Poland.

And those 350 troops join the 150 British troops who arrived here in December in response to instability on the Belarusian border, and the 150 British troops who contribute to NATO바카라 사이트™s enhanced Forward Presence, are standing shoulder to shoulder with our Polish counterparts to bring stability and security not just to Poland, but to Europe and I would say to the world.

I바카라 사이트™ve just come from seeing Jens Soltenburg in NATO, where the message I have given, and the one the UK has been giving to all our counterparts, is that we need to work together now to achieve de-escalation and to persuade Vladimir Putin to de-escalate and to disengage.

And as we tirelessly pursue the path of diplomacy to bring an end to the tensions on Ukrainian borders, it is important to remember why we are doing this and why we바카라 사이트™re putting together this package of sanctions against a possible invasion, why we바카라 사이트™re doing so much to support and protect Ukraine.

And it바카라 사이트™s exactly as Mateusz has just said - we won바카라 사이트™t accept, Poland and the UK won바카라 사이트™t accept, a world in which a powerful neighbour can bully or attack their neighbours.

And we won바카라 사이트™t accept it because we believe all people 바카라 사이트“ no matter where they are born 바카라 사이트“ have a right to live safely, choose who governs them and to decide what organisations they aspire to have membership of.

Or, indeed, what bodies they want to cease being members of.

And we will not compromise on that principle.

It바카라 사이트™s now more than 80 years Mateusz since Polish pilots came to my own constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in West London to help my country in our fight for freedom. We stood side by side to uphold our values and our principles then, and we stand side by side today.

Thank you all very much.

Updates to this page

Published 10 February 2022