Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the Ankara Summit: NATO is united

President Karol Nawrocki visited Türkiye, where he attended the NATO Summit on Wednesday. During the talks in Ankara, the Polish leader highlighted three key geopolitical objectives: strengthening allied solidarity, expanding defense infrastructure on NATO’s eastern flank, and deepening relations with the United States amid the continuing threat posed by Russia.

“Poland’s expectations of the North Atlantic Alliance have been met,” the President of the Republic of Poland said, adding that the Alliance is strong today and determined to defend the values on which it was founded.

Photos: Marek Borawski, KPRP

Alliance unity

Summing up his participation in the Summit, President Karol Nawrocki said that all the speeches delivered by heads of state and government contained clear declarations of Alliance unity and readiness to respond to the international situation. He also emphasized that the Allies agreed that Russia remains the greatest threat to NATO. For this reason, the President said, maintaining close transatlantic relations, which are already at a “very good level”, is essential.

“The strength of the North Atlantic Alliance, founded on cooperation between Europe and the United States, has been clearly demonstrated by today’s Summit in Ankara,” he told reporters.

The President also announced that the Allied countries had adopted a joint declaration at the conclusion of the Summit, reaffirming their unity, readiness to respond jointly to threats, and commitment to strengthening security (Final declaration of the NATO summit in Ankara).

Expansion of NATO infrastructure

Referring to dual-use infrastructure, the President of the Republic of Poland welcomed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s assurance that the construction of transmission infrastructure to Central and Eastern Europe would be treated as a “funding priority” for the Alliance. “I hope this will soon begin to take concrete shape,” he said, adding that the Secretary General’s declaration was consistent with the shift in responsibility for the security of the entire North Atlantic Alliance toward NATO’s eastern flank.

Defense spending

During his remarks, Karol Nawrocki recalled the decisions made at last year’s Summit in The Hague, where NATO members committed to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. Some European countries, however, have failed to meet those commitments. The President noted that Poland is among the leading countries to have reached this spending level and is therefore regarded as a model Ally. He added that countries in the region: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Denmark had also multiplied their defense spending over the past year. “All countries have declared that they will double or increase their spending, with some even pledging to triple their defense budgets,” he emphasized.

“I was very pleased to see the mobilization of the Allies at the Summit. This is undoubtedly also the result of President Donald Trump’s call – as the largest contributor to the North Atlantic Alliance – for Europe to assume greater responsibility for the Alliance,” the President of the Republic of Poland said.

He also expressed hope that the partners who had made firm declarations today would continue along this path of progressively assuming greater responsibility and building NATO 3.0.

In the morning, ahead of the NATO Summit sessions, President Karol Nawrocki told the media that allied unity and close cooperation with the United States remain the foundation of European security.

“Alliance solidarity, building it and reaffirming it at the North Atlantic Alliance Summit, is crucial and fundamental. This is also an opportunity to strengthen transatlantic relations. There is no NATO without the United States and without cooperation between the United States and Europe. This is the second objective whose achievement we in Poland regard as strategic,” he emphasized.

The President of the Republic of Poland clearly emphasized Poland’s leading role in defense burden-sharing and identified the principal threats to regional security:

“This also means reaffirming the main threat to Poland and to the whole of Central and Eastern Europe, a threat that has remained unchanged for centuries, namely, the Russian Federation. From Poland’s perspective, it must therefore be stated clearly that the Russian Federation is, remains, and will continue to be a threat to the North Atlantic Alliance. For me, as President of Poland, this is also an opportunity to explain how Poland is fulfilling its allied commitments. Let me recall that we spend nearly 5 percent of GDP on strengthening our military capabilities and on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. Poland is a model Ally,” President Karol Nawrocki emphasized.

Among the infrastructure proposals intended to make a tangible contribution to the defense of the region, the President highlighted the need to extend the dual-use fuel pipeline network toward Central Europe:

“I will continue to press for the pipelines, the network that currently ends at the former border between East and West Germany, to be extended to the Republic of Poland and Central Europe. The dual-use nature of these pipelines and this infrastructure also provides an opportunity to strengthen the security of NATO’s entire eastern flank.” (Poland’s connection to NATO pipeline system enters new stage).

The President also addressed the permanent stationing of U.S. forces in Poland, referring to previous political arrangements and the latest declarations from Washington:

“We want to secure a permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland in the form of a permanent base. I hope American soldiers will remain in Poland and, together with the Polish Armed Forces, will defend NATO’s eastern flank. This matter is progressing very well, particularly following the official letter from the U.S. Secretary of Defense to the Minister of National Defence. It can be said that, at the presidential and political levels, the road to a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland is now open“.

Meetings with national leader

During the Summit in Ankara, President Karol Nawrocki held talks with a number of national leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Czech President Petr Pavel, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The Polish President also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Their talks focused on bilateral relations, including historical issues.