There are three main topics that Poland wants to discuss at the Alliance summit. These are the further strengthening of NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities, the implementation of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic ambitions, and the issue of revising NATO's approach to Russia, states Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Duda noted that the further strengthening of NATO's defense capabilities involves implementing the decisions made at the Alliance summits in Madrid in 2022 and Vilnius in 2023.
"We must ensure that everyone in NATO reaches the 2% defense spending level... during the Cold War, NATO countries spent 3% of their GDP on defense, and these expenditures were so effective that the West managed to win the Cold War," he emphasized.
According to the president, the implementation of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic ambitions will involve accelerating its accession to NATO. Duda stressed that it is necessary to send Ukraine an official invitation to join NATO.
"It is obvious to us that Ukraine cannot be fully accepted into the Alliance until the war ends, but we believe this process should continue because it also demonstrates to Russia that NATO acknowledges, understands, and acts upon the aspirations of the Ukrainian people to join the North Atlantic Alliance," he said.
Duda also emphasized that many NATO countries in their rhetoric towards Russia are reverting to the NATO-Russia Founding Act.
"This act has effectively been non-operational for a long time. We believe that Russia has repeatedly violated this act. It should be considered null and void, effectively breached by Russia," the president said.
NATO summit
This year's NATO meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., USA, from July 9-11. We have already reported that today, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg outlined the objectives of the NATO summit.
At the same time, he emphasized that he would urge NATO representatives to take on long-term financial commitments to provide financial assistance to Ukraine.
