Poland’s new foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, understands both the West and East, which is a good sign for Polish diplomacy, according to Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, a professor of political science from the University of Łódź.
Żurawski vel Grajewski emphasized that the direction of Poland’s foreign policy under the new foreign minister will not change substantially.
He added that there will be a continuation of Law and Justice’s (PiS) current foreign policy program, which focuses on building excellent relations with the United States in terms of security and the economy, as well as deepening cooperation within the Central-Eastern European region.
The professor explained that in terms of relations with the US, crucial issues involve energy security and military cooperation as part of NATO’s Eastern flank.
In terms of Poland’s local region, he listed consolidating the region as part of a security cooperation against Russia and around common interests such as joint policy towards the EU and infrastructure is a major policy goal.
Żurawski vel Grajewski believes that Poland’s new head of diplomacy has much work ahead of him, especially when it comes to Eastern policy.
“Above all else are Belarusian issues, which will depend on how dramatically the situation evolves. We are also expecting another Three Seas summit in Tallinn in Fall. This concerns integrating the infrastructure of the region with government decisions and financial consequences. Ukraine may play a role here,” he said.
