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Polish deputy PMs hail NATO summit success, say Europe taking greater role in allied defence

08.07.2026 22:30
Poland's foreign and defence ministers on Wednesday hailed the outcome of NATO's Ankara summit, highlighting commitments by European allies to take greater responsibility for the alliance's defence and military production.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Radosław Sikorski speak to reporters at Warsaws Okęcie military airport on Wednesday.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Radosław Sikorski speak to reporters at Warsaw's Okęcie military airport on Wednesday.Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the two-day summit was more successful than Warsaw had expected.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said NATO members had agreed that Europe would assume a greater role in the continent's conventional defence, arms production and the security of military supply chains.

"The alliance emerges stronger from this summit," Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters after returning to Warsaw.

Sikorski said Poland's delegation, led by President Karol Nawrocki, presented a unified position during the summit, adding that Warsaw's priorities were reflected in the discussions and the summit's final declaration.

Among Poland's priorities, Kosiniak-Kamysz cited NATO's decision to expand its fuel pipeline infrastructure farther east.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that allies had agreed on a EUR 27 billion euro investment project to modernise the alliance's fuel supply network, including new pipelines extending to eastern member states.

The existing Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS) supplies fuel to NATO military bases and civilian airports in Western Europe but ends in western Germany, without reaching Poland or the Baltic states.

Warsaw has long advocated expanding the network to strengthen logistics support for NATO's eastern flank.

'We remain on the same team'

Asked about US President Donald Trump's sharp criticism of Spain at the summit and his renewed calls for US control of Greenland, Sikorski said the meeting nonetheless demonstrated allied unity.

"Moscow has no reason to be satisfied with the outcome of this summit," he said. "It leaves the alliance stronger, with new commitments on defence spending and a firm conviction that we remain on the same team."

Sikorski also welcomed Trump's announcement that Ukraine would receive a licence to manufacture missiles for the Patriot air defence system, saying the move would strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said Europe had significantly increased defence spending over the past year, narrowing the gap with the United States.

He added that NATO allies repeatedly cited Poland as one of the alliance's leading contributors to collective defence.

Leaders of the 32-member alliance reaffirmed their "ironclad commitment" to NATO's collective defence guarantee under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty in the summit declaration and pledged that European allies and Canada would assume greater responsibility for the alliance's security.

Nawrocki told a news conference that the summit reaffirmed NATO's unity and commitment to collective defence, adding that Poland's key security objectives had been achieved.

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Source: IAR, PAP