Andrzej Duda made the remark on the sidelines of a key NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish leader was asked about his talks on Tuesday with US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He told reporters that there were "many meetings on the sidelines," during which he was asked about “Poland’s view of the current situation in Ukraine and the issue of refugees.”
Duda added that his talks with Biden and Scholz also "covered the summit’s conclusions and the issues under negotiation.”
Unity and solidarity
The Polish president told the media: “Above all, there are two main principles and great hopes that I deeply believe will be realised: first, unity, unity, unity, and second, solidarity, because this is what matters most in NATO,” he said.
Duda also said that the importance of the alliance’s new strategic concept whereby Russia would "cease to be considered NATO’s partner, which frankly should have happened a long time ago, as today it is indeed the biggest threat to NATO countries, especially those on the eastern flank.”
The president said that, in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO leaders would decide to "turn the alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence on the eastern edge into Enhanced Forward Defence."
“This must also mean troop increases,” he stressed.
“All these issues will be discussed today and they will definitely be reflected in concrete statements in the summit’s conclusions,” Duda told reporters.
Asked about Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO, Duda replied: “Poland supports the open door policy of NATO and the European Union - this is our permanent stance.”
Also on Wednesday, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the Madrid meeting a “historic” and “transformative” summit, adding that the alliance must adjust to “new security challenges.”
On Tuesday, Turkey lifted its objections to Finland’s and Sweden’s bids to join NATO.
Madrid summit
The Madrid summit, which runs until Thursday, features heads of state and government from NATO’s 30 member countries, as well as representatives from Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, the European Council and the European Commission, according to officials.
Wednesday is day 126 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, nato.int