Polish economist, author and former presidential candidate Artur Bartoszewicz was asked about the country’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, and he had little nice to say.
“I don’t know who puts him in this role, but he is a dangerous man,” he said. “He should have been dismissed a long time ago,” Bartoszewicz said during a Youtube interview, according to Do Rzeczy.
Sikorski has recently openly supported the idea of Poland assisting Ukraine with downing Russian missiles and drones, even over the territory of Ukraine.
Zelensky himself has said he thinks Poland should shoot down Russian missiles flying towards Ukraine, adding that this does not have to mean NATO’s involvement in the war.
“This is a man detached from reality,” continued Bartoszewicz’ commentary on Sikorski. “This is a dog that barks. I don’t know who sets him in this role, but he is such a dangerous man. He is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he behaves as if he were the Minister of War.”
Reminding listeners that his role as a diplomat means finding a way to “mitigate conflict” not further incite it, he added, “Diplomacy is not about punching someone in the face, but to look for a way (…) to get along.”
“He mixed up the roles. I don’t know in whose interest he acts, but he puts social, economic and political interests at risk with a narrative,” he said, adding that his comments not only risk escalating the war but also scare away investors who may easily perceive his statements as if there was already a war in Poland.
Bartoszewicz also took aim at Sikorski’s wife, American journalist Anne Applebaum, saying it is a “completely unprecedented situation in the world that the wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is a citizen of another country.”
Such an appointment should be impossible, as you “do not know who he works for.”
He further called into question the fact that Sikorski formerly held British citizenship, although he gave this up in 2006 upon becoming Poland’s minister of defense.
Nonetheless, there are many who view Sikorski as a potential “traitor” in the wake of Poland defending its airspace against Russian drones—even if that is a stance NATO firmly and vocally defends. In fact, some of them are looking to launch criminal charges against the foreign minister.
At a press conference on Friday, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, president of the KORWiN party, and Grzegorz Braun, president of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, announced that they had submitted a notice to the prosecutor’s office about Sikorski having possibly committed a crime.
“Mr. Sikorski’s relationships date back to the old days when he was a war correspondent in Afghanistan. At that time, there was a fight with the Soviets, so in my opinion, being a British agent he did nothing wrong, but now it is worrying, because the interests of Great Britain clearly diverge from the interests of Poland,” Korwin-Mikke stated.
Korwin-Mikke went even further, claiming that the drones that arrived in Poland have a range of 300 to 600 kilometers, so they could not arrive from Russia.
“Also, ladies and gentlemen, the Polish government took part in the provocation. I am absolutely sure that it was not invented by the Ukrainians themselves. (…) But unfortunately, if a person cooperates with a foreign country that wants to draw Poland into a war that is beneficial to this country, but in a clearly unfavorable way for Poland, the prosecutor’s office should deal with it. And that’s what I asked the prosecutor’s office,” said Korwin-Mikke.
Although there has been no secret that intelligence experts have been split as to whether the Russian incursions were intentional, there has been general agreement that the drones came from Russia, that the incursions were a danger, and they do represent Russia’s increased aggression. Certainly, the number of drones Russia is sending to attack Ukraine, even if it is ultimately unclear if the drones that hit Poland simply went off-course or were pushed off-course by Ukrainian electronic counter methods.
As for Braun, he also expressed his opinion that the intrusion of drones into Polish airspace on Sept. 10 was an “international provocation” meant “to push Poland deeper” into the war.
Do Rzeczy notes that back in November 2024, Korwin-Mikke appealed to remove Radosław Sikorski from the post of head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as possible, with the allegation he was being used by pro-war circles.
In general, Poles are quite supportive of the country’s defense efforts in relation to Russia.
An IBRiS poll from May revealed that 63.3 percent of respondents felt Poland was threatened with invasion. The results of another IBRiS poll for Defence24 released in late June revealed that a whopping 75 percent believe NATO must defend its eastern flank, and 50 percent support increased military expenditures.
However, many Poles not believe a Russian attack is likely, despite some media hype.
Interestingly, only 12 percent in this poll saw a Russian attack as likely, with 15 percent seeing an attack on the Baltic states as possible. Meanwhile, a mere 8 percent believe Poland is ready for a war with Russia, explaining the large percentage in favor of upping the budget on this front.
