Andrzej Duda made the statement after a meeting with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest on Tuesday, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
The Polish president told the media: “In the face of the unprecedented Russian aggression on Ukraine and the resulting crisis, also for European and global security, there is a need for a new concept of NATO.”
He added: “The alliance’s presence in our countries should change its character, to a defensive, permanent presence, enhanced in terms of numbers and equipment.”
“NATO’s new strategic concept, which is now being developed, must take into account the changes which were naturally generated by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine," Duda told reporters.
"NATO must take this into account in the future,” he added.
Duda also said that the 1997 NATO-Russia Act "has ceased to exist because Russia doesn't feel bound by it."
New sanctions against Russia
He told the media that Poland and Romania would urge allies to slap the harshest possible sanctions on Russia as well as Belarus “if it joins Russia’s assault on Ukraine.”
The Polish president stated that Warsaw and Bucharest would press for diplomatic initiatives and economic assistance to Ukraine “to ensure that the war ends as soon as possible and that Ukraine can continue to exist as an independent state."
In addition, Duda said he and Iohannis would urge the European Union to grant candidate status to the post-Soviet countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
Before travelling to Romania, the Polish president on Monday met with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu in Chișinău, and then held talks with the Bulgarian head of state, Rumen Radev, in Sofia.
The flurry of talks came ahead of a special summit of the NATO alliance and US President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland, both scheduled for later this week, reporters were told.
Tuesday was day 27 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Tuesday reported it had taken in more than 2.14 million refugees fleeing Russia's attack on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP