Zubari Qureshi
The embassies of the countries comprising the Weimar Triangle—Poland, France, Germany—and Ukraine hosted a commemorative event on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine and reaffirmed solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Polish Ambassador MaciejPisarski, Ukrainian envoy MarkiianChuchuk, French Ambassador Nicolas Galey, and German Ambassador Alfred Grannas had jointly hosted the reception at the Polish embassy which turned out to be a rare show of solidarity with the European nation bordering Romania, Poland and Hungary.
US Ambassador Donald Blome, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott, envoys and diplomats of the European countries such as Italy, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Spain and DCM of Japan also stood in solidarity on the occasion with the Ukrainian people in their suffering and resilience.
A documentary “Culture vs War” by AkhtemSeitablaev a famous director and producer of Crimean Tatar origin who voluntarily joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces in February 2022 and an exhibition “Generations of War” featuring works created by the Ukrainian children were the highlight of the event.
In their addresses, ambassadors of the Weimar Triangle condemned the Russian aggression against the people of Ukraine. They also paid rich tributes to the Ukrainian nation for putting up an epic resistance against an enemy that is many times mightier in armoury as well as resources.
The world community of responsible and peace-loving nations must vehemently oppose and confront any infringement of international law, said Ambassador Pisarski underlining that Russia’s strategy was to wear down the defenders and those who help them, to make them tired and make the world forget.
However, he made it clear that there was no ‘Ukraine fatigue’ nor any division among those who, since the beginning of the aggression, have been on Ukraine’s side.
Ambassador Nicolas Galey of France said the event served as a reminder to what has been happening in Ukraine for the last two years: Thousands of lives have been lost but at the same time, it is also an obvious failure from the aggressor. He highlighted the resilience and fighting spirit of the Ukrainians. Their first victory is already in the records: They have foiled the Russian plan, said the French ambassador. We are all hostages to ‘one man’ who in his lust for power continues to violate the respect for territorial integrity of smaller countries. We must defeat him and need to stand together for this just cause, said the German ambassador.
Earlier, the Ukrainian ambassador thanked the hosts for their message of unity and solidarity. Two weeks ago, on February 12 the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland convened in the special format of the ‘Weimar Triangle’ and among the significant decisions, they expressed their intention to convene an enlarged ‘Weimar + Ukraine’ meeting of foreign ministers soon.
