Poland's president said that cooperation between the 12 countries between the Baltic Seas, Black Seas and Adriatic Seas will help protect Central and Eastern Europe from Russian energy blackmail.
The Three Seas Initiative is a Polish-Croatian project that aims to develop enhanced transport and energy infrastructure in the region.
President Andrzej Duda wrote on Monday in a letter to participants in the Local Government Economic Congress and the II Three Seas Initiative Forum of Regions in the Polish city of Lublin: "Today is the main theme of the Three Seas is energy security, building energy independence, and limiting the possibility of blackmail by Russia." According to Duda, Poland is in a position to cope with the Kremlin cutting off natural gas deliveries because of the strengthening of mutual transport connections between the Three Seas countries, which is a guarantee of security and prosperity in our part of Europe.
The president stated that the southern neighbours of Poland were interested in additional transit capacity to cater for their energy needs, which he described as a beautiful manifestation of the Three Seas concept.
The opening of gas interconnectors between Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, and soon also with Slovakia, is of similar importance, Duda wrote.
He also argued that the Three Seas Initiative could play an important role in the post-war rebuilding of Ukraine and facilitating that country's connection to European energy and transport systems. He pointed out that Ukraine had taken part in three Seas infrastructure projects including the flagship Via Carpathia North-South Road project prior to Russia's invasion.
He said that the current geopolitical situation added significance to the project of diversifying natural gas deliveries, as well as building a new corridor between Poland and Ukraine.
In the near future, Duda wrote that creating stable energy, road and rail connections, resistant to crises, between the Three Seas countries and Ukraine will be a priority.