Five Eastern European Presidents Meet in Poland Before NATO Summit

Presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Romania met informally at the presidential residence in Jurata, hosted by Polish President Karol Nawrocki. Euronews reported the gathering took place ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

The leaders discussed joint positions for the summit, priorities for regional cooperation and security in the Baltic and Black Sea basins, and key issues in transatlantic relations.

They also addressed strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, developing Europe’s defence capabilities, activity within the Bucharest Nine and Three Seas Initiative, energy and transport infrastructure, and the future of the European Union. Just before the talks the presidents visited the Naval Port in Gdynia.

During the meeting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda declared his readiness to mediate between Warsaw and Kyiv if both sides showed willingness.

“In an informal setting, we will also talk about this issue, which is extremely important to me,” Nausėda said. ” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski criticized the decision.

Nawrocki then stripped Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle; Zelenskyy returned the decoration to Warsaw by courier.

The dispute concerns the historical assessment of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, held responsible for the ethnic cleansing of the Polish population of Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland in 1943–45.