Poland could be security hub in region: Polish president

At a press conference accompanying a summit of the so-called Bucharest Nine in Kosice, Slovakia, Duda said that for such a scenario to unfold “a stronger presence of NATO forces in Poland” would be necessary, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

The summit was attended by leaders from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Topics on the agenda of talks included the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Black Sea and the state of affairs in the Baltic states, according to Duda.

The Polish president said: “We are unanimous as to what nowadays poses a real threat in terms of military security in our part of Europe.”

Duda added: “We agreed that the biggest problem is the return of Russia’s imperial ambitions… to which the North Atlantic Alliance as a whole must react accordingly.”

The Polish president told journalists that NATO should maintain its open-door policy not only in terms of North Macedonia but also Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. He said that such an approach “encourages collaboration and reforms in [aspiring] countries and [NATO’s] policy should entail spreading security to the largest extent possible.”

Duda also said that the leaders discussed the idea of strengthening NATO's presence in the Black Sea region as “it is important to show [the alliance’s] readiness to defend itself.” He added: “It’s definitely an issue … the North Atlantic Alliance should seriously consider.”

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that a further boost of NATO’s deterrence potential on its eastern flank should include a greater presence of the alliance in the Black Sea. He added that NATO “command and control structures should be gradually shifted" to the alliance’s eastern flank.

(aba/pk)

Source: PAP