Poland's new president hopes for good relations with Hungary's Orban
Hungary is an important partner for Poland, newly elected Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, told a Hungarian magazine in his first foreign interview, adding he would be building co-operation within the regional Visegrad Group.
The Visegrad Group, comprising Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, took a back seat after Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal coalition took power in 2023 from the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which had close relations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Eurosceptic Nawrocki narrowly won the Polish presidential election this month, delivering a big blow to the efforts of Tusk's centrist government to cement Warsaw's pro-European orientation.
Orban on Friday said Nawrocki's victory was 'fantastically good', hailing the success of an ally of US President Donald Trump.
'Hungary is a very important partner for Poland ... 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 Hungarian news outlet Mandiner in the interview.
'I certainly wish to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is a very effective politician, as proven by his repeated election results in Hungary. And I count on good co-operation with him, just as with other countries, in the interest of the region.'
It was not yet clear what Nawrocki's policy on Ukraine would be, but he reiterated that he opposed Kyiv's plans to join the EU.
Poland supports Ukraine strategically, 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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
19 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Greta Thunberg deported from Israel, denounces Gaza ‘war crimes'
Israel has imposed a rigid land, air and sea blockade on Gaza, saying the shutdown is needed to prevent arms from reaching Hamas militants. It lets in limited supplies of food that are mainly distributed by a private group it backs. The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the Gaza-bound sea mission as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. 'Greta and her friends brought in a tiny amount of aid on their celebrity yacht. It did not help the people of Gaza. This was nothing but a ridiculous gimmick,' foreign minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Tuesday. Saar said the small quantity of supplies aboard the UK-registered yacht would be transferred to Gaza through 'real humanitarian channels'. Thunberg defended the aid effort, organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, saying a larger boat that could carry a bigger cargo was disabled last month in the Mediterranean by drones allegedly operated by Israel. She also laughed off criticism from US President Donald Trump, who had described her as an angry person, saying: 'I think the world needs a lot more young angry women, specially with everything going on.' She said it was unclear where she would head next, telling reporters it could be Sweden. Thunberg travels mostly by train and has long shunned airplanes because of their hefty carbon emissions. In 2019, she crossed the Atlantic by boat to attend a climate summit. Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007. It tightened its grip significantly after Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the territory to a wasteland. In March, Israel imposed a total blockade of all supplies reaching Gaza, which experts said has driven the population of more than two million to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies largely distributed by a new Israeli-backed group. Israel said the step is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. Hamas has denied stealing aid.
eNCA
a day ago
- eNCA
Ukraine, Russia swap more captured soldiers after nighttime attacks
Russia and Ukraine swapped more captured soldiers Tuesday, hours after Moscow launched a wave of drone and missile strikes across Ukraine that targeted a maternity hospital and killed at least three people, Kyiv said. The deal to swap more than 1,000 prisoners of war, along with the handing over of dead soldiers' bodies, was the only concrete agreement to come out of peace talks between the two sides. Moscow has escalated its bombardments of Ukraine despite being urged by US President Donald Trump to end its three-year invasion, with Kyiv launching retaliatory attacks deep inside Russian territory. Talks in Turkey last week failed to yield a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war, with Russia rejecting calls for an unconditional ceasefire and outlining a string of hardline demands. After the overnight barrage of more than 300 drones and seven missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Kyiv's Western allies to respond with "concrete action". "Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace. Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong," Zelensky wrote in a post on social media. "The exchanges are to continue. We are doing everything we can to find and return every single person who is in captivity," Zelensky said on social media. He published photos of smiling Ukrainian soldiers -- all with freshly shaved heads -- draped in national flags. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap, though neither side said how many soldiers were freed. On Monday, Moscow and Kyiv swapped a group of captured soldiers. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA Russia's defence ministry said on Monday "the first group of Russian servicemen under 25 years of age" was exchanged. Kyiv said "injured and severely wounded" were swapped on Tuesday. The two sides had agreed to free all captured soldiers under the age of 25, as well as those wounded and sick. - Maternity hospital hit - Moscow earlier on Tuesday said it had targeted "Ukrainian aviation, missile, armoured vehicle and ship-building facilities in Kyiv" in an overnight "group strike". "The goal of the strikes was achieved. All designated targets were hit," the ministry said. But residential and hospital buildings were struck in Odesa, where two people were killed and at least nine others were wounded, Governor Oleg Kiper said. "The enemy massively attacked Odesa with strike drones," Kiper wrote on Telegram. "The Russians hit a maternity hospital, an emergency medical ward and residential buildings," he said, adding that the maternity hospital had been evacuated in time. In central Kyiv, an AFP journalist heard at least a dozen explosions, anti-aircraft fire and the buzzing of drones. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA City officials said one woman was killed and four people were wounded. Russia's 2022 invasion of its neighbour triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forcing millions to flee their homes and decimating much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukrainian cities are targeted by Russian air strikes almost daily. Kyiv has responded with attacks on Russian territory, targeting transport and weapons production infrastructure. In the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, Russian emergency services said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a petrol station. Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones overnight. - 'Pointless' - Despite pressure from Trump to reach a ceasefire agreement, peace talks are at a standstill. While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- whom he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. No date has been set for future talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected calls by Zelensky for a face-to-face summit to break the impasse. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA Over the weekend Moscow said it had pushed its offensive into the Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time, marking a significant territorial escalation. Ukraine said frontline shelling in the Kharkiv region had killed a 70-year-old man. As a condition for halting its invasion, Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the territories Moscow says it has annexed and forswear joining NATO. It has also rejected a proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire sought by Kyiv and the European Union, arguing that this would allow Ukrainian forces to rearm with Western deliveries. Ukraine is demanding a complete Russian withdrawal of from its territory and security guarantees from the West. By Stanislav Doshchitsyn
eNCA
a day ago
- eNCA
Shooter kills nine people at Austrian school
An attack on a school in southeastern Austria by a former student has left nine people dead, authorities said Tuesday, in a rare case of deadly gun violence in the Alpine country. Heavily armed police, a helicopter and paramedics descended upon the school in Graz, where 10 people including the alleged lone shooter were killed, regional police said. Six of the victims were female and three male, authorities later confirmed without specifying their ages. Twelve people suffered severe injuries. Police said the situation was "secure" and support was being provided to witnesses and those affected. The suspect acted alone and took his own life in the school toilet, police said, adding his motive remained unknown. Later on Tuesday, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker declared three days of national mourning to remember the victims, saying the country had witnessed "an act of unimaginable violence". According to the police, the alleged perpetrator is a 21-year-old Austrian from the wider Graz region. The perpetrator used two weapons he had owned legally to carry out the attack. The suspected shooter was a former student at the school, but had not finished his studies, Interior Minister Gerhard Karnert told reporters. "It's a disaster, simply terrible. After all, it's about children," Hasan Darsel, a restaurant owner in the area, told the newspaper Kronen Zeitung. - 'Deeply shocked' - After arriving in Graz, Stocker described the shooting as "a national tragedy", adding that it was "a dark day" for Austria. AFP | Alex HALADA Condolences poured in from across Europe. The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said she was "deeply shocked" when she heard about the shooting. "Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence," Kallas posted on X. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said "our thoughts are with our Austrian friends and neighbours and we mourn with them" after the school shooting he called "horrific". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban offered his "deepest condolences to Chancellor @_CStocker and the people of Austria" via social media. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "the news from Graz touches my heart" while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims following the "tragic news". Attacks in public are rare in Austria, which is home to almost 9.2 million people and ranks among the 10 safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. School shootings are also much more uncommon in Europe than in the United States but in recent years Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities, that were not connected to terrorism. In France on Tuesday, a teaching assistant was killed at a school in Nogent in the east following a knife attack. In January 2025, an 18-year-old man fatally stabbed a high school student and a teacher at a school in northeastern Slovakia. In December 2024, a 19-year-old man stabbed a seven-year-old student to death and injured several others at a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia. In December 2023, an attack by a student at a university in central Prague left 14 people dead and 25 injured. A few months earlier that year, a 13-year-old gunned down nine fellow classmates and a security guard at an elementary school in downtown Belgrade. By Julia Zappei With Kiyoko Metzler In Vienna
