Polish President Andrzej Duda has insisted he does not have anything against a new iron curtain in Europe if it protects countries from Russia’s imperial policy.
Duda offered his remarks following a meeting in Riga with his Latvian counterpart, Egils Levits, during which he discussed the current security challenges facing the continent.
The Polish president highlighted the global perspective on security and how the future has changed due to the events of the past year. He said that the Baltic states had warned the world that “communism in Russia and the Great Russian mentality had not disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“The Soviet Union did not collapse,” Duda claimed. “We now witness its revival, this explosion of Russia’s imperial mindset, that has resulted in aggression against Eastern Europe,” he added.
According to Duda, “Russkiy mir” (“Russian peace”) means poverty, enslavement, and misery. “We never agreed to enslavement, and we never will. What Russia has done in recent times has shown the world that any tales of perpetual peace were a fantasy.
“We do not want Russian peace, let Russia keep its peace for itself. We have our own life, our own plans, and we are prepared to defend them,” Duda stressed.
The Polish premier then moved to the statement on the iron curtain, claiming that “what once was a symbol of Central and Eastern Europe’s subjugation should now become a symbol of security,” adding that he had nothing against an iron curtain falling over Europe.
“I am prepared to build an iron curtain up to the clouds if it means (Russians) stay away from us and cannot cross it,” he stated.
Duda also said he is against the war and absolutely does not want Poland to be dragged into it. “Together with President Levits, we will do everything in our power to prevent war from coming to our countries.”
The Polish president was on a three-day visit to Latvia with his wife. Talks with Latvia’s authorities focused on support for Ukraine and plans to further strengthen the eastern flank of NATO. Duda also met with the Polish ambassador in Latvia.
