Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz: Trump wants to get back at Zelensky

Andrzej Duda met with Donald Trump on Wednesday at Trump Tower in New York. They talked about, among other things, NATO, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. – It was a friendly meeting in a very nice atmosphere – said the Polish president after dinner with the former president of the United States. – The long, almost two-and-a-half-hour conversation took place in an excellent atmosphere – added Presidential Minister Wojciech Kolarski after the meeting, saying that “it was excellent.” As he reported, during the meeting, Donald Trump “emphasized his sympathy for Poland and his appreciation for Poles.”

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The case was commented on by MEP Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz in “Fakty po Faktach”. – I was very critical of Mr. Duda's visit, but when he himself presented it as private. I soften my criticism a bit today, when information emerged that he held a number of meetings at the UN, including with the Secretary General. It is true that the current debate on sustainable development does not provide a good justification for the president's visit, but it is a justification, he said.

However, Cimoszewicz described the meeting with Trump as “controversial.” – On the one hand, of course, it is true that we need to maintain contacts with all important partners on the political scene of another country with which we care about relations. But on the other hand, I had fundamental doubts as to whether the incumbent president of our country should go to the United States to meet a very controversial politician, he added.

As he said, “it would be possible to maintain contacts with him and maintain this dialogue, not necessarily at this level.” He said that “of course it matters” for such an assessment that there is a criminal case pending against Trump. – Especially because of what the allegations are. (…) The charges against Trump concern both violations of the constitutional order – the events of January 2020 – and criminal behavior, forgeries, violations of financial regulations and so on – he added.

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz was asked about Donald Trump's attitude towards Ukraine and whether the current blocking of the aid package for Ukraine by Republicans in Congress will harm Kiev.

– He wants to get back at (Ukrainian President Volodymyr – ed.) Zelensky. Before the election, which he lost to (Joe – ed.) Biden, he even called Zelensky and blackmailed him a bit by saying that he would withhold weapons deliveries (…) if Zelensky did not provide him with prosecutor's documents in the case against the company where his son worked Biden in Ukraine – he replied.

– Zelensky very rightly decided not to hand over these documents. He did not want to interfere in the electoral process in the United States. But Trump is vindictive, he remembers it and wants to get back at him. But secondly, as you know, Republicans would like to force the White House, Biden, to agree to the radicalization of anti-immigration regulations and the deportation of illegal immigrants – he added.

“There will be no leniency for collaborators of the Russian services. We will strike down every betrayal and attempt at destabilization,” wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk on social media, referring to the recent arrests in Poland.

On Thursday, the National Prosecutor's Office announced that a person suspected of declaring readiness to act for the intelligence service of the Russian Federation was detained. Charges were brought against Polish citizen Paweł K. On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation reported that Two people suspected of attacking Russian oppositionist Leonid Volkov were detained in Poland. A close associate of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was attacked in Vilnius on March 12.

– These are, of course, very shocking events, but I wouldn't say I'm shocked – commented Cimoszewicz.

– It can happen anytime and anywhere. I have no doubt that the Russians are doing everything they can to recruit people who may be less suspected of this type of activity. In the case of the recently detained and arrested person (Paweł K. – ed.), it is a Polish citizen who conducted espionage activities in Poland and did it on behalf of Russian intelligence – he continued.

He stated that Donald Tusk “should be interested in why this case was detected by Ukrainian services and not Polish ones.” – How do our services responsible for this type of issues work? How does our counterintelligence work? This is interesting, this is an important question – added the MEP.