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Poland expects NATO to call Russia 'an aggressor': official

28.06.2022 07:30
Poland expects NATO’s new strategy to describe Russia as "an aggressor" and a direct threat to the alliance, a senior Polish security official has said.
Paweł Soloch, national security advisor to Polands President Andrzej Duda, talks to reporters on Monday, June 27, 2022.
Paweł Soloch, national security advisor to Poland's President Andrzej Duda, talks to reporters on Monday, June 27, 2022.PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Paweł Soloch made the statement to the media on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

He was speaking after Poland’s top political figures met ahead of a NATO summit, which begins in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday.

President Andrzej Duda had convened with senior Cabinet ministers to discuss preparations for the summit, officials told reporters.

Duda will represent Poland in Madrid. 

'The main threat to NATO'

Soloch, who is national security advisor to the president, said: “We expect NATO’s new strategic concept to define Russia unequivocally as an aggressor, a country that threatens the security of NATO countries to the highest degree.”

He added: “We also expect recommendations as regards NATO’s military organisation and how to create defence and deterrence capabilities against Russia, which is currently the main threat to NATO countries.” 

Earlier on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would increase the number of troops on high readiness to more than 300,000, and adopt a new strategy describing Russia as a "direct threat," the Reuters news agency reported.

Stronger eastern flank

Stoltenberg also told reporters that NATO’s battlegroups on the eastern flank would be enhanced to brigade level. 

Soloch said: “NATO’s presence on the eastern flank will definitely be boosted,” adding that the Polish president had long advocated for a stronger eastern flank amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Assistance to Ukraine, admission of Sweden, Finland

Meanwhile, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz said that the Madrid summit would also discuss “military assistance to Ukraine” and the admission of Sweden and Finland to the Western defence alliance. 

His Ukrainian counterpart Hanna Malar, who visited Warsaw on Monday, said that Ukraine’s aim of joining NATO was enshrined in the country’s constitution. 

She stressed that Ukrainian troops were "defending the frontier of Europe," adding that the Madrid summit should “discuss a new model of collective security in Europe and globally, and Ukraine’s place in this model.” 

Madrid summit

The Madrid summit, scheduled for June 28-30, will feature 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.   

Tuesday is day 125 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters