Speaking to Swedish magazine Svenska Dagbladet, Sikorski spoke about the “fragile state” of Ukraine following the conflict in the east of the country.
Sikorski said that “it is painful for any country to lose a part of its territory, but I'm afraid that if Donbass were to be returned to Ukraine in the morning as if by magic, then the task of reintegrating and rebuilding it would be beyond [the country’s] capacity. Ukraine is in such a fragile state.”
“I think that Ukraine should concentrate on creating success for the 90 percent of the country's territory which it controls,” Sikorski added.
'Difficult situation'
Speaking to Radio Poland, Kuźmiuk said: “It is irresponsible for a Polish Foreign Minister to speak like this. [Such statements] clearly impinge on the internal issues of Ukraine. I think that Ukraine itself is in a very difficult situation.
“Russia annexed Crimea. It is also conducting a war on the eastern part of the country, and this kind of statement [by Sikorski] suggests that Ukraine has already lost this land. However, so far, the EU's position and that of Ukraine’s nearest neighbour, Poland, is currently very strong.
“That's why sanctions against Russia still apply. Russia needs to first of all withdraw from the eastern part of Ukraine, it should not support these conflicts which are escalating to a regular war, and finally also give Crimea back to Ukraine. This is obvious. I must honestly say that I'm surprised that a man of such international experience [such as Sikorski] expresses such opinions,” Kuźmiuk said.
The Kremlin-controlled RIA Novosti agency said that through his interview Sikorski encouraged Ukraine “not to not try to recover Crimea and Donbass, because it is unprofitable”.
Kuźmiuk, a Law and Justice (PiS) MEP, said: “This is the first case after WWII when a country has forcefully changed the borders of another country. And this sets a very dangerous precedent if it gets accepted by the international community, and I understand this was Radosław Sikorski’s suggestion.
"Basically any other strong country will be able to rebuke some of the territories that in its opinion belong to it. The international community should absolutely not allow this to become a precedent, and I hope that the EU’s position on this matter will continue being clear.
“Poland and Poles should be happy that for the last half a year, Radosław Sikorski has not been Polish Foreign Minister,” Kuźmiuk added.