New Delhi [India], July 13 : Poland on Monday voiced support for India's stance on the West Asia conflict, with the Polish Secretary of State and Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski terming New Delhi's approach as the "right position" and stressing that the ongoing crisis should be resolved through diplomacy while ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to ANI in New Delhi, Bartoszewski said India's role as a major economy and energy importer made its balanced approach significant amidst the ongoing conflict.
He said, "India's position is the right position because you are a big country, an important country, and you benefit from free access to goods, including oil, and you depend very much on the oil and gas from the Gulf. Poland still maintains contact with Iran... We informed them that our preferred solution is a diplomatic one. So we do the same thing as Prime Minister Modi. We try to talk reason, but to moderate effect, I would say."
On the ongoing West Asia conflict, the Polish minister underlined that international waterways, that is, the Strait of Hormuz, must remain open and emphasised that no tolls should be charged on crossing it.
He said, "The Strait of Hormuz has to be open to traffic. We do not accept closing such waterways. We do not accept the way some people want to charge tolls for crossing the waterways. There is an international agreement that international seas are open to all traffic, and that is Poland's definite position."
The Polish minister also reiterated Warsaw's opposition to nuclear proliferation, including that of Iran. Though he emphasised that the few nations, including India, having nuclear weapons was enough. He said that the Iran-US conflict must be resolved diplomatically and not "by force."
He said, "We firmly believe that Iran should not be allowed to make nuclear weapons. We don't believe in proliferation of nuclear weapons. There are a few nations, including India, which have them, and that's enough... We support the Indian stance on that because free trade is crucial... We welcome the ceasefire, although it's not working completely... This dispute should be resolved diplomatically and politically, and not by force."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Secretary (West) Sibi George met Bartoszewski and Poland's Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Michal Baranowski, in New Delhi.
https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2076588885656928536
In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the "wide-ranging discussions reflected the depth of the India-Poland Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed to shared commitment to strengthening cooperation across political engagements, trade & investment, technology, defence, culture, fight against global terrorism and other areas of mutual interest."