Kyiv invites new Polish PM to visit Ukraine shortly

Polish media have reported that Ukraine is seeking to arrange a "swift" visit to Kyiv by the new Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, in order to initiate a "reset of relations" as soon as possible.

Source: Onet, a Polish web portal, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The plans are to organise the visit regardless of whether Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet this week in Brussels, where the EU leaders' summit will take place on 14-15 December.

Tusk briefly mentioned the possibility of meeting with Zelenskyy in Brussels during one of his speeches on Tuesday, 12 December. Tusk is flying there almost immediately after being sworn in before the Polish president and the official commencement of the new government.

Sources close to Tusk say his meeting with the Ukrainian president in Brussels has not yet been confirmed.

Onet's sources in both Poland and Ukraine suggest that Ukraine is inviting Tusk to Kyiv as one of his first foreign visits, and there is a possibility that the new Polish PM will accept the proposal.

One of Tusk's associates, commenting on the condition of anonymity, noted that it would be a logistical challenge to travel to Ukraine – a 16-hour one-way trip – but that the route had been well established during the full-scale war and Tusk's visit "would be natural."

Background:

• Tusk and Zelenskyy met several times when the former was still chairing the European Council. In 2019, Donald Tusk travelled with Zelenskyy to the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska.
• On Tuesday evening, 12 December, the Polish Sejm expectedly passed a vote of confidence in the Council of Ministers headed by PM Donald Tusk.
• The government of new Prime Minister Donald Tusk is expected to be sworn in by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday morning, 13 December.

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