Poland’s Duda urges Zelensky to “remain calm and constructive” in relations with Trump

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda says he has held a “candid conversation” with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in which he warned that there can be no lasting peace in Ukraine without US involvement and expressed his view that Donald Trump is committed to finding a solution.

“I suggested to President Zelensky to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation with President Donald Trump,” wrote Duda on social media. The Polish president, a conservative, enjoyed close relations with Trump during the US president’s first term in office.

“I trust that good will and honesty form the foundation of the US negotiation strategy,” continued Duda. “I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace.”

The Polish president added that he had “conveyed to him [Zelensky] that we consistently believe there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States”.

Zelensky himself also wrote on social media that, during the call, he had updated Duda on “the ongoing dialogue with the US team” following a visit to Kyiv by Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

“It is important that the United States stand with us,” added Zelensky. “A strong and lasting peace can only be achieved through unity…Our common goal remains clear—to protect Ukraine and all of Europe from Russia’s war of aggression.”

Duda himself also met with Kellogg in Warsaw earlier this week, after which the Polish president praised the Trump administration for “entering the game very strongly when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine”, saying it had led him to “hope that the war will end”.

However, the Polish president – who has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and Zelensky since Russia’s invasion – also warned that “this war cannot end with a Russian victory and a just peace must be established.

Poland’s government – which is often at odds with opposition-aligned President Duda – has been less enthusiastic about Trump’s actions towards Ukraine.

Last week, foreign minister Radosław Sikorski called Trump’s decision to hold direct talks with Vladimir Putin a “mistake”, though he also expressed hope that the US president’s “unorthodox” tactics would work

This week, amid concerns that the US was sidelining Europe from negotiations, Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that there “should be no decisions on Ukraine without Ukraine and no decisions – in terms of Europe’s security – without Europe”.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.