Andrzej Duda made the remark during a panel discussion about the future of NATO at the Krynica Forum 2023 policy conference in the southern Polish mountain resort of Krynica on Thursday.
The Polish president said: “The North-Atlantic Alliance represents our strongest guarantee. We intend to build up Poland’s potential so that we are capable of defending ourselves.”
Duda added: “For us the biggest threat is our nuclear-armed neighbour. Only partners who also possess such weapons can defend us against this threat. And so the North Atlantic Alliance is our mainstay.”
He further stated: “For us, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a visible sign of the revival of Russian imperialism.”
The president told the conference that Poland had managed to shake off dependence on Russian gas by building an LNG terminal in the northwestern port of Świnoujście, gas interconnectors with Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Ukraine, and the Baltic Pipe for bringing gas from Norway.
He said: “We secured alternative sources of supply and so when Russia halted deliveries of gas to Poland, we were able to meet our needs.”
Duda emphasised that “Poland has accelerated the modernisation of its army in a spectacular way.”
He declared: “Our goal is to ensure that Poland’s potential effectively deters any attacks.”
The president also said that Poland was “serious about its NATO commitments” and “about national security,” in view of the country’s history.
Duda stated: “NATO’s power is undoubtedly sufficient to thwart Russia and make it comply with the standards of international law.”
He argued during the debate in Krynica that “Ukrainian people want to be part of NATO … part of the open world of free people, democracy and the right to self-determination,” the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 568 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl