Polish president tells UN: ‘We are not the ones seeking confrontation’ with Russia

Polish President Karol Nawrocki told the United Nations General Assembly that Poland and its allies are “not the ones seeking confrontation,” arguing instead that Russia is destabilising the situation in Europe through open aggression.

Nawrocki’s remarks came during his address to the assembly, delivered as part of a broader series of speeches by world leaders on the sidelines of the UN’s annual high-level session in New York. His comments reflect a position widely shared among NATO’s eastern-flank members regarding the war in Ukraine and its wider implications for European security.

The address came just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to speak to the assembly, with attacks reported inside Ukraine in the same period. As of the time of Nawrocki’s remarks, there had been no public comment from Zelenskyy or Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.

Context at the UN

This year’s General Assembly session has featured extensive discussion of the war in Ukraine, with leaders from across Europe using their addresses to reiterate support for Kyiv and to characterise Russia’s actions as a broader threat to regional stability.

Nawrocki’s speech adds to that chorus of statements, and attention now turns to Zelenskyy’s own address later in the day for any direct response to recent developments.