Only direct intervention by US President Joe Biden can lead to an agreement with South Korea to provide Ukraine with artillery shells, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the New York Times.
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“We spoke with South Korea about this, about the delivery of weapons and ammunition … But I don’t think this will be possible without the intervention of the United States,” Morawiecki said, noting that Seoul “is afraid of the reaction of Russia and China.”
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According to the newspaper, allegedly secret Pentagon documents leaked to the network say that Poland can play a role in the transfer of artillery shells from South Korea to Ukraine. However, reports indicated that South Korean officials were reluctant to provide munitions, fearing that doing so might violate their country’s rules against providing lethal aid to parties to a military conflict.
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Getting help from South Korea would require Washington to reassure Seoul that it will continue to support it in the face of any response from China and Russia, Morawiecki said. He also noted that Poland itself would never transfer South Korean weapons without an agreement with Seoul.
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“I would be very happy if Biden intervened … Because without the intervention of the United States and <…> some kind of security guarantee that President Biden could give South Korea, I don’t think this will happen,” – the Polish prime minister added.
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Earlier, Morawiecki told reporters following the European Union summit in Brussels in March that the European Union would try to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine from South Korea.
