As the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches and a plan to help Ukraine stalls in Congress, the man who has become a symbol of the former Soviet Union’s fight for freedom urges the United States to “deal with Russia once and for all.” I’m asking you to. . ”
Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish President Lech Walesa speaks exclusively to Fox News Digital about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and why the United States and the West need to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Interviewed.
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Fox News: Mr. President, you have been defending Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. What specifically did you ask American lawmakers to do?
Lech Walesa: in [the] In the late 80s, I led a major revolution in Poland that led to the end of communism and the Soviet Union. We did this to build a new world, but we could not complete the job when it came to Russia and China. We were too weak to do that. After 40 years, the time has finally come to finish the job. I came here to encourage the United States to help. That’s what I try to explain to my American friends.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa attends a rally in support of Poland’s accession to the European Union on October 10, 2021 in Gdańsk, Poland. (Bartosz Banka/Agencja Gazeta, via Reuters)
Fox News: In 1989, you called for economic aid for Poland, including when you spoke before the U.S. Congress. And in that speech you said, “In peacetime, tanks are better than warships.” Did you ever imagine that 40 years from now there would be a war going on in Europe?
Walesa: Yes, I imagined it and warned everyone about it.Back then we believed in Mikhail Gorbachev. [the last leader of the Soviet Union] excessively. He was doing great things, but we forgot that he was a Russian patriot. He wanted to rebuild Russia and make the West even more dependent on Russia. America now has a historic opportunity to make amends. The world has never been more united against Russia than today. We have a chance for peace so that our grandchildren will not have to fight.
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Former President Ronald Reagan (left) and Lech Walesa in Varsowy, Poland, in September 1990. (Georges de Keerle/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Fox News: You were one of the first foreign nationals to address Congress in 1989 and was not a head of state. Two years later, Boris Yeltsin addressed parliament as Russia’s first elected president. At the time, the United States was optimistic about Russian democracy. Do you think Russia will soon become a democracy?
Walesa: If we offer to come together and America can lead the world, it will happen. My question is when will this happen? And what will the price be?
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) listens to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, February 20, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo, via AP)
Fox News: You were friends with President Ronald Reagan. How do you think he would react to American foreign policy today?
Walesa: Reagan initiated these processes. It’s hard to imagine things going much further without Reagan. Thus, the era of bad division in the world ended. We won that stage. But today we are not winning. It’s becoming more and more dangerous. That’s why I want to persuade America to take the lead in the world.
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Fox News: While you’re here, Republicans are divided over aid to Ukraine. What do you say to Republicans who are slowing down the funding process?
Walesa: I tell them to listen to old Walesa. If we don’t act now, we will lose.
Fox News: What will happen to Ukraine if it does not receive the support it needs?
Walesa: Ukraine is not the only country affected. America will be at risk. Russia wants to attack the US. For now Russia is too weak to do so, but if they let Ukraine fall, the US will be next. Therefore, it is in the interest of all of us, including the United States, to deal with Russia once and for all.
In this photo provided by the National Police of Ukraine, people remove debris from a restaurant destroyed by a Russian attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (Ukraine National Police, Associated Press)
Fox News: When you talk to American politicians, do they share your concerns?
Walesa: They do not fully understand the danger they are facing.
Fox News: There is an election coming up here, and its effects will be felt far beyond the United States. Worried about our presidential election?
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Walesa: I’m worried. We don’t realize that we live in changing times. Old-fashioned solutions don’t fit today’s problems. We have fallen into an age of debate about language and how the world should be. [like]. We need countries ready to lead, take responsibility and help create solutions. But instead, solutions are always delayed.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
