Andrzej Duda made the statement at a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish president talked to the media at the close of the Western military alliance’s two-day summit in the Lithuanian capital.
NATO 'changing the language with which to describe Russia'
Duda said that, in response to Vladimir Putin’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, NATO was changing the language with which to describe Russia.
He told reporters: “Russia is absolutely ceasing to be NATO’s partner to any extent whatsoever.”
The president added that “some of the allies had pressed for years for NATO documents to refer to Russia as a NATO partner.”
Duda stated: “Today there is no doubt that Russia is an aggressor. Today Russia poses the biggest threat to NATO allies and it is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine. This is stated explicitly in NATO documents.”
NATO to send 100,000 troops to Poland in case of attack: president
The president also said: “According to NATO estimates, in the event of an attack on the Brest Gate on Poland’s border with Belarus, some 100,000 allied troops would be deployed to Poland for immediate defence.”
He added: “These are the current assumptions and they have been approved as part of NATO’s new defence plans.”
NATO responds to threat from Belarus
Duda told reporters that the Vilnius Summit Communiqué made several references to Belarus as an area that poses a strategic and military threat to the alliance.
He noted that NATO allies vowed to “remain vigilant and further monitor closely” developments in Belarus.
Moreover, NATO condemned Russia’s “announced intention to deploy nuclear weapons and nuclear-capable systems on Belarusian territory,” the Polish president said.
Duda added that, according to the Vilnius Summit Communiqué, “any use of nuclear weapons by Russia against NATO countries, will be met with an appropriate response by NATO countries.”
NATO to strengthen presence in Poland with weapons stockpiles
The president said that Poland's authorities were also pleased that NATO had decided to "implement the Polish demand" to store prepositioned military equipment on the eastern flank, including in Poland.
He said: “We must have weapons stockpiles locally so that only soldiers have to be deployed to Poland if necessary. Such a decision has been made at the Vilnius summit.”
Duda hailed this as “another positive decision” made during the NATO summit in Lithuania, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 504 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gazetaprawna.pl, NATO