the times | Monday May 23 2022 15
News
President Duda of Poland said yester-
day that he would not rest until
Ukraine became a member of the Euro-
pean Union, despite France warning
that the process could take 20 years.
On a surprise visit to Kyiv, Duda was
speaking to the Ukrainian parliament
as the first foreign leader to address it in
person since Russia invaded on
February 24. He was given a standing
ovation.
“Worrying voices have appeared,
saying that Ukraine should give in to
Putin’s demands. Only Ukraine has the
right to decide about its future,”
Duda told the Verkhovna Rada, the
single-chamber assembly.
He said that the international
community must demand that Russia
completely withdraws from Ukrainian
I won’t rest until Ukraine joins EU, says Polish leader
Charles Bremner Paris territory. “If Ukraine is sacrificed for...
economic reasons or political ambi-
tions, even a centimetre of its territory,
it will be a huge blow not only for the
Ukrainian nation but for the entire
western world,” he added.
Duda, whose country has taken in
3.5 million people fleeing Ukraine, also
supported Ukraine’s rapid accession to
the EU despite France, Germany and
other key states refusing to consider
any fast-track approach to bypass the
bloc’s entrance qualifications.
“I will not rest until Ukraine becomes
a member of the European Union,”
Duda said.
As he spoke, France reiterated its
opposition to speedy membership.
Clément Beaune, its Europe minister,
told Radio J: “If you say Ukraine is
going to join the EU in six months, or a
year or two, you’re lying. It’s probably in
15 or 20 years. It takes a long time.”
President Zelensky has criticised Presi-
dent Macron twice this month over
what he said were demands that
Ukraine make concessions to enable
President Putin to save face. “We want
the Russian army to leave our land,”
Zelensky said ten days ago. “We won’t
help Putin save face by paying with our
territory. That would be unjust.”
On Saturday he rejected a proposal
by Macron that Ukraine be invited to
join a broad “associated” community
alongside the EU that could also in-
clude Britain and the Balkan applicant
states. “We don’t need such compro-
mises,” Zelensky said in Kyiv during a
visit by Antonio Costa, the Portuguese
prime minister. “Believe me, it will not
be a compromise with Ukraine in
Europe. It will be another compromise
between Europe and Russia,” he said.The Polish president visited Kyiv for
talks with Zelensky in April, along with
the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, and
Estonia. At the end of his speech yester-
day, Russian missiles struck Kyiv.
Duda paid tribute to Ukraine and
said his country welcomed the refugees
it had taken in. “Dear Ukrainians, your
relatives — wives, parents, children —
who were forced to leave for Poland are
not refugees in our country, they are
our guests,” he said. “Despite the great
destruction, despite the terrible crime
and great suffering that the Ukrainian
people suffered every day, the Russian
invaders did not break you. They failed
at it. And I believe deeply that they will
never succeed. I want to say it with all
my might: the free world has the face of
Ukraine today.”
Nato’s next chief should come from
Estonia, Edward Lucas, page 28President Zelensky welcomed Poland’s
President Duda to parliament in KyivPeople in Kyiv
make the most
of an exhibition
of destroyed
Russian tanksPresident Biden, his vice-president,
Kamala Harris, and the actor Morgan
Freeman are among almost 1,
Americans who have been banned
from entering Russia. Donald Trump,
however, is still free to visit.
Moscow released an updated list of
US citizens who are no longer welcome
in the country including politicians —
some dead — journalists, tech entre-
preneurs and academics. Biden’s imme-
diate predecessor was not among the
963 names.
Those on the list were guilty of incit-
ing “Russophobia”, according to the
Russian foreign ministry.
The inclusion of Freeman, 84, caught
many by surprise. Russia said he was
barred because of a September 2017
video in which he criticised Moscow’s
meddling in US elections, saying: “We
have been attacked. We are at war.”
Also on the list are John McCain, the
former senator and Republican presi-
Scholz on the hunt for
African energy supplies
Jane Flanagan Africa CorrespondentGermany’s race to cut its reliance on
gas from Russia has injected urgency
into the first official visit to Africa by
Olaf Scholz as he hunts new sources of
energy supplies.
The German chancellor arrived in
Senegal, which is tipped to become a big
gas producer, on the first stop of a three-
nation tour that began with a visit to a
solar power plant followed by talks on a
deal to develop renewable energies.
Last year 55 per cent of Germany’s
gas came from Russia. This reliance has
been reduced to below 40 per cent, but
making further cuts will require new
partnerships, analysts said.
Scholz has invited Senegal and South
Africa, where he will be tomorrow, to be
guests at the G7 summit he is hosting in
Germany next month. For now, Europe
receives substantial gas supplies fromonly two countries on the continent:
Algeria, which provided about 8 per
cent of EU gas imports last year, and
Nigeria, which accounted for 2 per cent.
The war in Ukraine is likely to lead to a
scramble for Africa’s natural resources.
“We should use Germany’s G7 presi-
dency to conclude a comprehensive
deal for investments in sustainable
technologies with Africa,” Stefan
Liebing, chairman of the German-
African Business Association, said.
Scholz, who was elected in December,
is a fresh face for Africa’s leaders, who
have been courted strongly by Presi-
dent Putin. Senegal and South Africa
were among 17 countries that abstained
from voting on a United Nations resolu-
tion against Russia’s invasion.
Africa is bearing the brunt of Russia’s
Ukrainian grain export blockade, which
has worsened the food crisis, especially
in the east and Horn of Africa.Putin blacklists stars and dead senators
dential nominee who died in 2018,
Harry Reid, a former Democratic
senator who died in December, and
Orrin Hatch, a long-serving Republi-
can senator who died last month.
American politicians said that the
sanctions would not deter their support
for Ukraine. Richard Blumenthal, a
Democratic senator from Connecticut,
said: “Putin has banned me from Russia
— a badge of honour from a barbaric
butcher. My message back: America
must expand military aid, humanitar-
ian help and crippling economic
measures to assure brave, fierce
Ukrainian fighters defeat you.”
Donna Brazile, a long-time
Democratic campaign strate-
gist, said: “Well, I have informed
all of my family and friends
that Putin has banned
me from travelling toRussia. I’m standing up for Ukraine.
Greatest honour to stand up for demo-
cracy all across the globe.”
Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-
founder, is also on the list, as is Brad
Smith, the president of Microsoft, and
the film-maker Rob Reiner, who was
included for creating a website titled
Investigate Russia, according to
Moscow.
Jen Psaki, the former White House
press secretary, responded to her inclu-
sion on Twitter, saying: “I guess we will
have to cancel our August family trip to
Moscow.”
Explaining the blacklist, the Russian
foreign ministry said: “Russia does
not seek confrontation and is open to
honest, mutually respectful dialogue,
separating the American people,
who are always respected by us,
from the US authorities, who
incite Russophobia, and those
who serve them. It is these
people who are included in
the Russian ‘blacklist’.”Keiran Southern Los Angeles
Morgan Freeman is
among 963 people
banned from RussiaNews
GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS; CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES