Poland joins G20 agenda after missile hits Ukraine border

The situation in Poland was on the agenda in Bali, Indonesia, where world leaders are meeting for the Group of 20 (G20) summit this Wednesday (16).

During the morning, at local time, US President Joe Biden held an emergency meeting with representatives of some nations about the Russian-made missile that hit Polish territory on Tuesday (15).

In addition to Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, President European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Carlos Michel were at the emergency meeting.

An official G20 discussion is yet to take place on Wednesday. Before the emergency meeting, Macron’s government reported that the French president had convened talks on the subject to the group.

“The president has been in contact with the Polish leadership and is being informed about the evolution of the situation,” said the French government spokesman.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also mentioned the proposal for a G20 meeting on the subject.

“I will propose a coordination meeting on Wednesday with EU leaders [União Europeia] present at the G20 here in Bali,” Michel said in a tweet after talking to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The projectile of Russian origin hit Poland in a region close to the border with Ukraine, killing two people. So far, there is no confirmation on who launched the missile.

THE CNN a defense source said France was being “extremely cautious” and that officials would not comment until they had been able to “review all available information”.

Representatives of the Group of 20 (G20) — made up of the world’s largest economies — began talks on Tuesday and should resume discussions this Wednesday, in Bali, Indonesia.

This is the first summit since the clash between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24. Even before today’s events, war was among the top topics being addressed by world leaders.

Still in the morning, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, spoke virtually to the G20 — at the invitation of the host country, since Ukraine is not part of the group.

Zelensky presented a ten-point peace plan to end clashes with Russia on its territory.

“I am convinced that now is the time when Russia’s destructive war must and can be stopped,” he said, before Moscow launched several missiles against different cities in Ukraine on Tuesday.

Before the attacks, FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) president Gianni Infantino called for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine during the World Cup. The biggest football tournament in the world starts on the 20th.

Context

Two people died after an explosion in Poland on Tuesday (15), in a region close to the border with Ukraine.

Although the Polish foreign ministry confirmed that the explosion was caused by a “Russian-made missile”, it is still unclear where the projectile came from.

It is worth noting that, since 1999, Poland has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to Article 4 of the treaty, “the Parties shall consult each other whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened”.

Following the news of the explosion in Poland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke to Polish President Andrzej Duda by telephone and said it was “important that all the facts are established”.