President Andrzej Duda at Milosz Zeman's birthday. The head of the Presidential Office of International Policy, Mieszko Pawlak, comments

Former Czech President Milos Zeman celebrated his 80th birthday party on Saturday. The guests from abroad included the presidents of Poland, Slovakia and Serbia – Andrzej DudaPeter Pellegrini and Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, as well as former Czech president Vaclav Klaus.

Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski said on Monday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised President Duda against attending Zeman's birthday. – I would advise the president to choose a different choice of friends – said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on TOK FM radio. Sikorski assessed that the president's behavior made a bad impression in Poland. – I think that the president already regrets it, (…) it does not build his authority – he said.

HEAD OF MFA RADOSŁAW SIKORSKI WILL BE THE GUEST OF MONDAY'S EDITION OF “KROKA NAD I”. WATCH ON TVN24 I TVN24 GO

“He feels best among his own people. Zeman's birthday, packed with people who are tilted towards Putin and advocate his interests, gathered those who think alike, represent similar values, and dream of a similar model of the state,” wrote Krzysztof Brejza, an MEP from the Civic Coalition.

READ ALSO: Duda at Zeman's birthday. Sikorski: We advised against it

The head of the Presidential Office of International Policy, Mieszko Pawlak, commented on the matter. – We do not see anything extraordinary or wrong in the fact that Andrzej Duda took part in this event – he said.

He explained that the ceremony was private. – President Andrzej Duda cooperated with President Zeman for nearly eight years, in 2015-2023, and has always had personal respect and sympathy for him. That's why he decided to attend this party, Pawlak said. He added that the Polish president “meets quite regularly with former presidents, especially those with whom he had a cordial, personal relationship.” – President Zeman belongs to this group – noted Pawlak.

He added that about 250 people “from very different backgrounds” attended the party. – It was a very diverse group. Former presidents, current presidents, prime ministers participated in this reception – as did the former Czech president Vaclav Klaus, with whom he was friends Lech Kaczyńskithe current president of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, with whom, incidentally, the prime minister Donald Tusk he also met when he was in Warsaw in July this year – said the presidential minister.

He also referred to the fact that Viktor Orban was among the guests. – He is a politician with whom, in completely normal circumstances, leaders normally meet and sit at the same table. Of course, we have different positions with him on many issues, including fundamental ones. But I am absolutely surprised that it can be said that he is a person with whom you should not sit at the same table – he noted. – However, this is the leader of a European country and such accusations are groundless – said Pawlak.

– If we want to look for people who are trying or have tried in the past to build good relationships with… Vladimir Putinwe can find such politicians in every country, including Poland, added Pawlak. However, he did not want to say who he was referring to.

Pawlak noted that although information had previously appeared in the Czech press that the guests might include former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder – who, after leaving this position, was also a lobbyist for the Russian energy sector, and in 2017–2022 the head of the board of directors in the Russian oil company Rosneft – the information about his participation in the party was denied before President Duda went to the Czech Republic. – We knew that Gerhard Schroeder would not be present at this meeting – and he was not present – explained Pawlak.

PiS MP Marcin Przydaczwhen asked about Duda's participation in Zeman's birthday, said that presidents and former presidents maintain contacts with each other. The former deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former head of the International Policy Office of the presidential office pointed out that these are most often influential people in the world of politics of given countries. – Despite differences in political views, President Duda and Milosz Zeman had good cooperation during their term in office. So I don't see anything inappropriate in the fact that they continue to maintain this relationship, said Przydacz.

In his opinion, such informal meetings are an excellent opportunity to convince, for example, the president of Serbia or the prime minister of Hungary to change their mind about supporting Ukraine. Przydacz also emphasized that at the beginning of his presidency, Zeman presented “a view of understanding for Russian policy”, but he changed his approach towards Russia very sharply after the full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

When asked whether participation in Zeman's reception did not harm Duda's authority, among others, as ambassador for the Ukrainian cause, he replied that “in diplomacy there is no comfort in discussions and meetings only with people with whom we agree.” Przydacz also pointed out that the meeting attended by the president was informal and the organizer was Milosz Zeman and he selected the guests.

The deputy head of the PSL-Trzecia Droga club, Magdalena Sroka, believes that President Duda should not attend Zeman's birthday party. – Especially since the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was negative twice regarding the president's participation in this event. That's why it shouldn't happen, Sroka emphasized.

Duda's decision to attend Zeman's birthday was also negatively assessed by the deputy head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Ewa Schädler (Polska 2050-TD). – I think it was a very bad decision because the president is joining a group of politicians who are close to Putin, and this is probably the worst choice in our political situation, i.e. war on our eastern border – she said.

In turn, co-chairman of the New Left, deputy speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzastyasked by journalists in the Sejm to assess Duda's behavior, said that “I try to think about President Duda in only one category: each day brings us closer to the end of the president's term.” – And the sooner it ends, the less embarrassment there will be – he added.

Tomasz Trela, an MP from the Left, also spoke critically about President Duda's participation in Zeman's birthday party. – President Duda's disgrace has no end and will probably continue until he leaves the Presidential Palace – he said. In his opinion, “showing your friends, allies of (Vladimir) Putin, who is waging a regular war, murdering children, women and seniors in Ukraine, is simply a scandal.”

In turn, Przemysław Wipler (Konfederation) believes that the controversy surrounding Duda's participation in Zeman's birthday is “complete nonsense.” In his opinion, Zeman's attitude towards Russia is not the thing that “defines him the most.” – Zeman is the former president of the Czech Republic – he is still a very important politician in his country and in my opinion it is not our role to choose who the president should meet and who he should not – noted Wipler.