Third Geremek Lecture in DC features former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski and former National Security Advisory to President Obama and General James L. Jones, Jr., USMC (Ret.)

The 2013 event focused on Ukraine’s relations with Europe and the energy independence of Central and Eastern Europe. 

In his opening speech, Atlantic Council CEO Fred Kempe spoke of President Kwasniewski and General Jones’ roles in building democracy. 

Poland’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ryszard Schnepf said that the people of North Africa, the Middle East, as well as Eastern Europe remind us every day that the struggle for democracy is not yet complete nor guaranteed, and that  Poland has “encouraged our Ukrainian friends to show their commitment to building a deep and sustainable democracy.” The Ambassador expressed hope that Ukrainian authorities will do everything they can over the next months to secure Ukraine’s place in Europe. 

Aleksander Kwaśniewski’s speech focused on the perspectives of Ukraine’s closer integration with Europe. According to the former president, the results of the last EU-Ukraine summit (February 25, 2013) demonstrated the EU’s commitment to deepening its relations with Kiev, including the possibility of signing the Association Agreement at the next Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. Mr. Kwaśniewski pointed out that there is an ongoing struggle for Ukraine’s future: Russia aims at keeping it within its own sphere of influence, and including it into the Kremlin’s integration initiatives. 

The former president noted that the 2010 Smolensk plane crash and deaths of Polish President Kaczyński, his wife and members of cabinet , had a significant impact on the development of Polish-Russian relations. He pointed out serious disagreements between Warsaw and Moscow over Ukraine’s future and shale gas exploration. 

Both J. Jones and A. Kwaśniewski were critical of the “reset” US-Russia policy of the Obama administration. According to General Jones, a former US national security advisor, relations between Washington and Moscow depend to a large extent on the personal relations of the leaders of both countries: they were positive under Dmitry Medvedev and more difficult during Vladimir Putin’s presidency. 

„The U.S.-European relationship is the strongest in the world, we can build on this significantly," General Jones said, citing the leading role of the Transatlantic community on both the security and economic fronts. Jones said that he welcomed plans to negotiate an EU-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and that in the long run, trade agreements are even more important to global security than defense pacts. He also said that in the next 17 years, energy is going to be the key to global security. 

In answer to a question posed by former U.S. General  Edward Rowny, the chairperson of the American Polish Advisory Council, Ambassador Schnepf said that Poland’s economic situation remains positive against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, and that its economy is open to the foreign investors, particularly from the energy sector. Ambassador Schnepf invited the Polish-American community to promote that image of Poland in the U.S. 

At the event’s completion, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Olexander Motsyk (who also served as Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland) praised former President Kwasniewski's historic role in building the Ukraine’s future.