Poland’s new president aims to strengthen ties with Hungary’s Orbán
Photo: Karol Nawrocki (Getty Images)
Hungary is an important partner for Poland. The cooperation will be established within the framework of the regional Visegrad Group, according to the newly elected President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.
"We are facing serious tasks, such as building the Visegrad Group, which will be an important format for me, as well as strengthening (military alliance) NATO’s eastern flank and the Bucharest Nine," Nawrocki told the Hungarian news outlet Mandiner.
Nawrocki said that he wants to meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, "who is a very effective politician, as proven by his repeated election results in Hungary."
"And I count on good cooperation with him, just as with other countries, in the interest of the region," he added.
Position on Ukraine
It is not yet clear what Nawrocki's policy towards Ukraine will be, but he reiterated that he opposes Kyiv's plans to join the European Union.
Poland strategically supports Ukraine because "the greatest threat to me, as an anti-communist, and in my opinion to the entire region, is the Russian Federation," he said.
He added that "Ukraine must also understand that other countries – including Poland, Hungary, and other European nations – have interests of their own."
Eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland's presidential election this month, dealing a major blow to the attempts of Donald Tusk's centrist government to consolidate Warsaw's pro-European orientation.
The Visegrad Group, which includes Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia, faded into the background after the liberal coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to power in 2023. It replaced the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which had close ties to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
