Poland – Poland counts on Turkey to secure the NATO’s East side against Russia, by Olivier Bault.
I made a phone interview with Artur Dmochowski, the spokesman for the Ministry, after the declarations of Witold Waszczykowski, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Poland, in Ankara the 20th of April. Artur Dmochowski clearely said that his declarations were not empty words.
Poland is in favour of a quick integration of Turkey to the EU and isn’t afraid by a increase of illegal immigration, because of the future abolition of visas for Turkish citizens. She considers that illegal immigration can be controlled by the border authorities, with or without visa requirements. The Ministry spokesman couldn’t tell if Poland’s proposition was compatible with those of the other members of the Visegrád. He repeated that Poland supported a quick integration of Turkey to the EU, because it’s a necessity to secure the East side of the NATO, and so the Eastern part of the EU.
“Turkey is really important for the security of our region, Central Europe and Eastern Europe” Artur Dmochowski said. But he denied that it was an agreement with, on one hand, Poland’s support for the abolition of visas and Turkey’s integration to the EU, and on the other hand, Turkey’s support for the NATO’s next summit, in June, In Warsaw, for the deployment of the American forces in the region. The spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Minister of Poland said that anyway, Turkey was in favour of such a deployment, and also of a better security of the Eastern side of the Atlantic Alliance. He also categorically denied any American pressure for a support from Poland to Turkey in exchange for the installation of American bases in Poland.
When I asked if Poland wasn’t condemning President Erdogan’s and AKP’s policy of repression and violation of Human Rights towards Kurdish populations of Eastern Turkey, the Polish spokesman said that he didn’t wish to comment on the subsequent situation of an ally and that it was not the role of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Poland. Also he didn’t wanted to make a declaration about the ambiguous relations between Turkey and the Islamists, in particular the Islamic State.
And about the President of Ankara’s Parliament’s declaration, on Tuesday, on the Islamic character of the Turkish new Constitution, that is in discussion, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Poland, it’s the internal affairs of an ally that Polish Ministry hasn’t to comment. “We do not like when other countries get involved in our internal affairs. In the same way we do not have to get involved in other democratic countries’ internal affairs.” emphasised Artur Dmochowski.
Translated from French by the Visegrád Post.
