Polish, Russian foreign ministers meet for first time in two years

The Polish and Russian foreign ministers met on the side-lines of a UN general assembly in New York on Thursday for their first meeting in two years.

Despite relations between the two countries being under constant pressure from issues such as Ukraine and energy security, Zibgniew Rau said is too early to speak about a turn in bilateral relations.

The Polish foreign minister told PAP that he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, discussed mainly Poland's upcoming chairmanship of the Organisation for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

"Poland is taking over the chairmanship on January 1, 2022, and in order for this nearly 50-year-old organisation, which brings together more than 50 countries, to function, we need one fundamental thing: a consensus," Rau said.

"The thing is that Russia is among the countries that are crucial to reaching a consensus, and with whom it is more difficult to get this compared to other countries," the Polish minister added.

Relations between Warsaw and Moscow chilled after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and helped instigate the now frozen conflict in the country's eastern region of Donbas.

Rau said the issue was briefly mentioned during the meeting.

The minister also said he and Lavrov only touched upon other issues, but declined to provide further details.