Rishi Sunak the UK would “support our allies” but said it was “unlikely” Russia fired a missile that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister’s comments came as Joe Biden pledged US support for Poland, with US intelligence suggesting the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one.
The Prime Minister joined an emergency morning meeting on the incident at the G20 summit in Bali.
He was pictured sitting next to the US President, who called the roundtable of likeminded G7 and Nato leaders.
#Breaking A senior US intelligence official says that Russian missiles crossed into Nato member Poland, killing two people pic.twitter.com/szRMIeqCzY
— PA Media (@PA) November 15, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japan’s premier Fumio Kishida, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel from the European Commission and European Council, respectively, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Dutch PM Mark Rutte were also gathered in the room.
In an official read-out of the meeting, issued by the European Union, the leaders said they agreed to offer their “full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation”, while reaffirming their “steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression”.
It comes as Mr Biden held a call with Polish President Andrzej Duda, in which the American “offered full US support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation”.
The Prime Minister, who is currently at the G20 in Bali with other world leaders, said he had spoken to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace about the incident.
Mr Sunak also spoke himself to Mr Duda and “reiterated the UK’s solidarity” with the country and “expressed condolences for the victims and their families”.
He tweeted: “We are urgently looking into reports of a missile strike in Poland and will support our allies as they establish what has happened.
“We are also coordinating with our international partners, including NATO.”
According to Downing Street, Mr Sunak offered Poland “any assistance needed to urgently establish what happened”.
“The leaders agreed to remain in close contact and continue co-ordinating with our international partners, including Nato allies, on the next steps,” a spokesperson said.
Little information is so far known about the incident, but it has already sparked concern in Ukraine and among the war-torn nation’s allies in Europe and beyond.
The Polish Foreign Ministry late on Tuesday said that a Russian-made missile fell in eastern Poland and killed two people.
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