The Kremlin was all too quick to believe its own propaganda that the Western man is demoralised and therefore weak. All social changes in the West, whether it pleases Russia or not, have not affected the sphere of security and defence

— declares Jakub Kumoch, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland and Head of the Office for International Policy, in an interview given to Marcin Wikło.

The interview shows the development of the tense situation between the country led by Vladimir Putin and both NATO and the United States. An expert from the circle of the head of state tries to present the true intentions of the Russian leader. However, he does not believe that his plan is to rebuild the USSR.

I think what he really considers to be his task is to build a stable system of power transfer that will not melt down what he has built, right after he steps down. However, an unpopular war of today could derail those plans, and send Russia back to square one - the collapse of the 1990s.

He also explains what lies behind the phrase ‘unpopular war’:

An unpopular war is one that is not won quickly and spectacularly; one from which soldiers return in coffins. One that is fought against people the Russians do not hate. After all, most of them do not feel any animosity towards the Ukrainians. In fact, they consider them to be brothers. Perhaps they are just indulging in propaganda and think that the government in Kiev is not what it should be. But this is still not enough.

Jakub Kumoch stresses that it is necessary to take a firm and tough stance towards Russia.

Poland firmly rejects the third option, the path of the bargain, also known as the Munich variant. In other words, ‘do not attack and we will let you off the hook’. This is not how it will ever work

— it reads.

The international affairs specialist also admits that:

With enough determination, the West can afford to support the long resistance of the Ukrainians.

In the interview, he also explains the course of the Polish president’s talks in Beijing.

China is a highly rational player. When it comes to foreign policy, it’s not an ideological or narrow-minded country. And in trade, it is able to cooperate with anyone because it is concerned about its own best interests. That was the first point of discussion. Promoting the idea that there is someone else big in the world, outside the West, who is interested in working for world peace was the next. If a third power emerged, it might give Moscow an opportunity to save face and get out of the current impasse

— it reads.

Tłum. K.J.