Poland Overlooked at Berlin Meeting on Ukraine

The news in Polish

1. odbyć się
   Mieć miejsce; być zrealizowanym (o wydarzeniu, spotkaniu, itp.). ↩︎
2. spotkanie (n.)
   Zgromadzenie osób w określonym celu, najczęściej w celu omówienia czegoś. ↩︎
3. lider (m.)
   Osoba, która przewodzi grupie, ma znaczący wpływ na jej działalność. ↩︎
4. omówić
   Przedyskutować szczegółowo jakiś temat. ↩︎
5. kluczowy
   Mający decydujące znaczenie w określonym kontekście. ↩︎
6. spotkanie (n.)
   Zgromadzenie osób w określonym celu, najczęściej w celu omówienia czegoś. ↩︎
7. zorganizować
   Przygotować i przeprowadzić wydarzenie. ↩︎

Translation

Text Comprehension

Question: Who organized the meeting in Berlin?

Question: Which country’s leader was not invited to the meeting despite playing a key role?

Vocabulary

Polish	English

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In a recent high-level meeting held on Friday in Berlin, the leaders of the USA, France, Germany, and the UK gathered to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. Notably absent from this significant meeting was Poland, a country extensively involved in supporting Ukraine.

The meeting was initiated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following the cancellation of a planned summit on Ukraine’s defence, which was supposed to take place in Ramstein, Germany. Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs representative, Paweł Wroński, expressed surprise over Poland’s exclusion, emphasizing that around 90% of aid to Ukraine passes through Polish territory, highlighting Poland’s crucial role.

The absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from the talks also raised questions about the summit’s effectiveness. Wroński pointed out that without key players like Ukraine and Poland, the meeting’s results might be limited. He attributed the decision of who attends solely to Chancellor Scholz.

Furthermore, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the matter, stating that no actions were currently planned to address this situation with Germany or other participating nations. Wroński also responded to Zelensky’s recent remarks that implied that countries not supporting Ukraine militarily were excluded from seeing parts of Ukraine’s plans for victory.

Adding another perspective, former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, commented on the minimal impact of the Berlin meeting, labeling it as hastily arranged with no significant decisions made. Sikorski expressed a preference for Poland’s inclusion in such discussions, suggesting that when Poland participates, more effective decisions are reached.

The discussions largely focused on broader geopolitical issues, with the Middle East taking center stage rather than specific resolutions regarding Ukraine. The prior cancellation of the Ramstein meeting was due to scheduling changes by U.S. President Joe Biden, who needed to address domestic concerns.

 

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