Minsk [Belarus], September 1 (ANI): European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived at the Polish-Belarusian border on Sunday, where they discussed defence and security, among other issues, as per Euro News.

The EC chief on Sunday assured Tusk and the Polish people of 'Europe's full solidarity with Poland as a frontline state,' and stressed the importance of putting continued pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

'Putin has not changed and will not change. He is a predator,' the European Commission president said, adding that 'he can only be kept in check through strong deterrence,' as per EuroNews.

Von der Leyen's trip to Poland comes as part of her four-day tour of European states bordering Russia or its ally Belarus, aimed at stressing solidarity with border states and supporting the development of Europe's defence industry.

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The meeting between Tusk and von der Leyen coincided with the 45th anniversary the August Agreements, a historical deal between the communist government and striking workers that paved the way for the creation of the Solidarity Trade Union, the first independent trade union in the Eastern bloc, which played a pivotal role in the collapse of communism in Europe, as per Euro News.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit said on Monday that the West's constant attempts to draw Kiev into NATO are one of the main causes of the Ukrainian conflict.

He pointed out that the crisis arose largely because of the coup d'etat in Kiev in 2014, which was provoked by the West, as per Tass.

'The second reason for the crisis is the West's constant attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO. As we have repeatedly emphasized, this poses a direct threat to Russia's security,' Putin noted.

According to the Russian president, as a result of the coup in 2014, 'the political leadership of the country that did not support Ukraine's accession to NATO was removed,' Tass reported. (ANI)