Andrzej Duda made the remark at a meeting of Poland’s National Security Council in Warsaw on Thursday.
The National Security Council advises the president and includes senior officials such as the Speakers of both houses of parliament, the prime minister, the defence, interior and foreign ministers, and prominent politicians from both the government and opposition.
Duda convened Thursday’s meeting to brief participants on the outcome of NATO's Vilnius summit and the latest national security challenges resulting from Russia's ongoing invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
'Deterrence by punishment' instead of 'deterrence by denial'
In his opening remarks to reporters, Duda said that the Vilnius summit “produced very important decisions.”
He added: “For the first time since the Cold War, NATO has put in place defence plans. They change NATO’s defence strategy from deterrence-by-punishment to deterrence-by-denial. This means deterrence in the literal sense, making sure nobody captures the territory of a NATO country. It’s a significant shift.”
NATO to strengthen responsiveness to threats
The Polish president noted that at their 2022 summit in Madrid, NATO allies said they were determined “to ensure that a situation like Bucha does not happen in a NATO country,” referring to the mass killings perpetrated by Russian troops in this Ukrainian town in the spring of last year.
Duda said NATO allies then decided that the pact must be able to respond “swiftly and very firmly” to any threats and the rapid response force “must number some 300,000 troops, a truly enormous contingent.”
The president said that to achieve this, “specific units in various NATO countries must be earmarked for the rapid response force, to be deployed to areas where security must be ensured.”
He said “the process to earmark these units for the NATO rapid response force is under way.”
Duda added that the second requirement, “demanded by Poland and adopted by the Vilnius summit,” is for NATO to store prepositioned military equipment in countries exposed to threats, including in Poland.
NATO to strengthen air defence on eastern flank
Duda told reporters that in the Vilnius Summit Communiqué, allies pledged to improve NATO’s air defence "in line with Poland's demands."
The president added that this would include “rotational presence” of modern air defence systems and capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank as “an area under potential threat.”
Duda said: “NATO’s air force will be in action all the time and will strengthen the alliance in our region.”
Response to events in Belarus
Duda noted that days before the Vilnius summit he issued a letter to NATO allies together with his Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts, urging the alliance to respond to recent events involving Belarus.
The Polish president told reporters on Thursday: “We were in no doubt that events such as the Wagner mercenary group’s attempted mutiny against Russia’s military command, President Vladimir Putin’s stated intention to deploy Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, and the relocation of the Wagner fighters to Belarus, significantly affect the security architecture in our part of Europe. And so we decided to send a letter to NATO’s national leaders about these events.”
Duda added: “We have made an impact because not only was Belarus discussed at the Vilnius summit, it was also mentioned five times in the Communiqué, with reference to the strategic area of the Brest Gate [on Poland’s eastern border], which is currently under heightened threat.”
'Severe consequences’ if Russia uses nuclear weapons
The president also said that "with reference to Russia’s intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory,” NATO leaders “emphasised very strongly” in the Communiqué that any use of nuclear weapons by Russia “against any NATO member, including Poland,” would be met with severe consequences.
Duda stated that he would "press for further decisions in this matter” and that Poland would seek for NATO “to stress this issue very strongly” at the alliance's 2024 summit in Washington, 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 505 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, NATO, prezydent.pl