Speaking to reporters at the summit in Ankara, Nawrocki said Poland's strategic goals are to strengthen the alliance and NATO solidarity. "This is also a moment for building transatlantic relations. There is no NATO without the United States and without U.S. cooperation with Europe", he said.
He added that the summit is also an occasion to reaffirm that the Russian Federation remains the main threat to Poland and all of Central and Eastern Europe. Nawrocki said the Ankara meeting gives him a chance to highlight how Poland is fulfilling its alliance commitments, including spending nearly 5% of GDP on defense. "Poland is a model ally [...] that fulfills all its commitments to its partners, and I think Poland's example will also matter within the North Atlantic Alliance", he said.
Nawrocki noted there are also issues within the alliance that have gone unresolved "for decades". He said he would push for pipelines that currently end at the former border between East and West Germany to be extended "to the Republic of Poland, to Central Europe" — a reference to NATO's Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS), built in the 1950s, which spans more than 5,000 kilometers and connects France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. He said the dual-use nature of the pipelines could help build security for NATO's entire eastern flank.
Nawrocki said an official dinner hosted Tuesday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave him the chance to speak with several leaders, including Ukraine's president. Asked about that conversation, he said he and Zelensky spoke "out of courtesy", adding that his position on tensions between the two countries remains unchanged, but that "does not preclude our dialogue, our discussion".
Nawrocki said there might be an opportunity to speak with Zelensky again Wednesday. "It seems natural to me that neighboring countries facing a common enemy, the Russian Federation, remain in dialogue despite certain bilateral tensions", he said.
He said he spoke "fairly briefly" Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump about a permanent American troop presence in Poland, something he said he has sought since his first visit to the U.S. as president on Sept. 3, 2025.
"President Trump is fulfilling his declarations. Now it's all up to Poland's Ministry of National Defense. You could say the highway toward a permanent U.S. troop presence in Poland is open at the presidential level, at the political level," Nawrocki said.
Asked about reports that Russia might be preparing a military provocation on Polish or Baltic territory, Nawrocki said it is "always possible that Putin could use Russian armed forces against countries in Eastern and Central Europe. We are trying to build solidarity not only within NATO but also in Poland, to build a strong military", he said.
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Source: PAP