Radosław Sikorski says he would nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if the president brokers a “fair and honorable peace” for Ukraine.
The Polish deputy prime minister, 62, floated the extraordinary offer during an interview with The Post on Thursday at the Polish Mission in Midtown Manhattan, where he was attending the UN General Assembly. His comments came as Poland faces what he described as an existential threat from Russia’s escalating aggression.
“Historically, every time Russia conquered Ukraine, we were next,” Sikorski told The Post.
Sikorski warned that Vladimir Putin appears determined to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s borders, with Poland now suffering near-daily air-raid warnings triggered by Russian drone incursions. The veteran diplomat, who retains the clipped English accent from his Oxford University days, said Moscow is increasingly waging hybrid warfare against his country through threats to infrastructure, cyberattacks, and aerial violations near the border.
“It’s the last thing we wish for. But we don’t decide it. It’s the aggressor, Russia, who is imposing this hybrid war on us, and who is apparently considering escalating this disaster. So we need to deter Putin from making his mistake even worse,” he said.
The prospect of Polish troops entering Ukraine remains off the table for now. Sikorski noted that Poland is already patrolling its own airspace along the border and believes other European powers should take the lead in any ground presence.
“At the moment, we think it would be better for Britain, France, and Germany to do that. We have a big role to play in sustaining the logistical operation,” he said. “We feel our first duty to NATO is to protect the Polish-Russian border.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has separately cautioned that Russia is plotting “accidental” hybrid drone and missile strikes against Ukraine’s allies, including Poland, designed to probe NATO’s collective defense resolve.
Amid these mounting threats, Poland is aggressively lobbying for a permanent US military base on its soil that could host up to 15,000 troops. Sikorski pitched the arrangement as a bargain for Washington, even as Trump seeks to reduce America’s ground footprint in Europe.
“The eastern flank [of Europe] should be favored, because that’s where the threat is,” Sikorski said, adding that the US is “getting a good deal in Poland” with the new base.
“We pay $15,000 per annum for every US soldier. We’ve offered to build this base for you, which means that it would be cheaper for you to keep the soldiers and to exercise them in Poland than it is in the United States,” he continued.
“What we [Poland] get is a signal to Russia: ‘Don’t you dare invade us.’ What you [the US] get is some of the best exercise grounds in the world and lower costs of keeping your army,” he said.
Poland’s courtship of American military presence reflects its status as one of the most pro-US nations in Europe. A Politico poll earlier this year found that 24% of Poles surveyed viewed the United States as a close ally — more than double the rate among citizens of Germany, France, or Italy. Europeans overall held mostly negative views of their alliance with Washington and opposed hosting American troops, the survey found.
Sikorski’s Nobel offer carries particular weight given his own diplomatic stature and the fraught history between Trump and European leaders during his first term. The former foreign minister, whose Oxford circle included future British Prime Ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson, made clear that any peace deal’s terms remain Ukraine’s sovereign choice.
“But as to what that fair peace may look like, ‘that is for Ukraine to decide,'” he said.
Sikorski continues his diplomatic push at the UN General Assembly in New York.