POLAND-HUNGARY/ORBAN Russia, Ukraine subject of “difficult” talks with Orban – Kopacz

Record ID: 565857

  • Title: POLAND-HUNGARY/ORBAN Russia, Ukraine subject of “difficult” talks with Orban – Kopacz
  • Date: 19th February 2015
  • Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (FEBRUARY 19, 2015) (REUTERS) POLISH PRIME MINISTER EWA KOPACZ WELCOMING HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VICTOR ORBAN/ORBAN HANDING KOPACZ BOUQUET OF FLOWERS KOPACZ AND ORBAN SHAKING HANDS VARIOUS KOPACZ AND ORBAN ENTERING CONFERENCE ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) POLISH PRIME MINISTER, EWA KOPACZ, SAYING: "We just had a really difficult and really honest conversation with Prime Minister Orban. It mainly concerned the European Union's position towards Russia and the situation in Ukraine. For us, the unity of the European Union and condemnation of a policy of aggression are fundamental." KOPACZ AND ORBAN DURING PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) POLISH PRIME MINISTER, EWA KOPACZ, SAYING: "I am convinced that countries like ours, which thanks to aid from abroad, thanks to support from western democracies reached their independence 25 years ago now have a debt of gratitude to those who are denied the right to independence." CAMERAMAN JOURNALIST WORKING ON LAPTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VICTOR ORBAN, SAYING (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "Referring to the Ukrainian conflict we support the Minsk agreement. We think that it is good step, that it is [the] base of European unity." PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VICTOR ORBAN, SAYING (ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRANSLATION): "Poland has a special place in our hearts. Even during such hard times as World War II, when we were allies of your enemies we supported you, we found the way to help you." KOPACZ AND ORBAN SHAKING HANDS KOPACZ AND ORBAN LEAVING CONFERENCE ROOM
  • Embargoed: 6th March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABDYLQ5JUFT7Q932YW8IDPKQAS
  • Story Text: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Polish counterpart Ewa Kopacz held "difficult"' talks about the European Union's stance towards Russia on Thursday (February 19), Kopacz told journalists.
    "We just had a really difficult and really honest conversation with Prime Minister Orban. It mainly concerned the European Union's position towards Russia and the situation in Ukraine. For us, the unity of the European Union and condemnation of a policy of aggression are fundamental," she said.
    She added that countries like Poland and Hungary, which reached independence with the help of western countries, have a "debt of gratitude" to Ukraine.
    "I am convinced that countries like ours, which thanks to aid from abroad, thanks to support from western democracies reached their independence 25 years ago now have a debt of gratitude to those who are denied the right to independence," she said.
    Orban's warm relations to Russia, including a deal last year to build a new nuclear power plant, have kept Western partners on edge as Moscow finds itself isolated over an escalating conflict in Ukraine.
    Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Thursday despite European efforts to resurrect a still-born ceasefire, a day after pro-Russian separatists who spurned the truce forced thousands of government troops out of a strategic town.
    Western nations have refused to give up on a peace deal negotiated last week even though rebels disavowed it to seize the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve. Thousands of besieged Ukrainian troops pulled out of the town on Wednesday in one of the worst defeats for the Kiev government in a 10-month war that has killed more than 5,000 people.
    Orban said that Hungary supported the Minsk agreement.
    "We think that it is good step, that it is [the] base of European unity," he said.
    Orban stepped up his criticism of his European allies for their policy of seeking to isolate Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine, naming top EU official and former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as one of its backers.
    Tusk, Polish prime minister until late last year, was one of the most hawkish European advocates for tougher sanctions on Russia, a line he continued once he moved to Brussels.
    But in Warsaw, Orban tried to stress the importance of Polish-Hungarian relations despite strains since accusations he was moving the country closer to Moscow's orbit.
    "Poland has a special place in our hearts. Even during such hard times as World War II, when we were allies of your enemies we supported you, we found the way to help you," he said.
    European and U.S. officials have expressed the hope that the ceasefire can now take effect, with rebels that are fighting for territory the Kremlin calls "New Russia" halting their advance having achieved their main objective in Debaltseve.
    But artillery was still raining down near Debaltseve on Thursday, and the Ukrainian military said its troops had come under fire elsewhere from rebels.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register