President Duda: Something unprecedented happened at the top of Vilnius. Immediate defense plans have been adopted

“It was not an easy summit. We have been preparing for it for a long time,” said President Andrzej Duda in the program “Gość Wiadomości”.

The two-day NATO summit in Vilnius has come to an end. In a communiqué adopted on Tuesday, the Allies confirmed the decision of the 2008 Bucharest Summit for Ukraine to join NATO. They also recognized that Ukraine’s path to NATO no longer required a Membership Action Plan (MAP). Alliance leaders also decided that NATO would draw up three regional defense plans in the event of an attack on member states in Europe: one for the north of the continent, one for the south and a third for the countries on the eastern flank. including Poland.

It was not an easy peak. We have been preparing for it for a long time. Lots of meeting, talking, discussing. Several conversations with the President of Ukraine. (…) We have been working on this summit for a long time. Many decisions have been made. Perhaps they are not so spectacular in the reception of an ordinary citizen. (…) Before all, something unprecedented happened. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, NATO has approved defense plans based on immediate defence. Until now, these plans have been unforeseen. (…) This means that NATO’s response is immediate and very massive. The units prepared under these plans to react extremely quickly will not recapture the territory held by the enemy, but will not allow it to be captured. This is a discussion that took place during the Madrid Summit. It was after the tragedy in Bucza and Borodzianka. (…) It was strongly said that we cannot allow such a situation to occur in any country. (…) Areas cannot be occupied

– he said.

Relationship with Russia

Andrzej Duda drew attention to the significant change in Russia’s approach, which echoed at the Vilnius Summit.

There has been a change in the atmosphere with regard to Russia in the past 1.5 years. In the past, the red thread that Russia is a NATO partner was constantly thrown in. The largest countries did not abandon this terminology. (…) It is no longer there. NATO says clearly and plainly that Russia is a threat, an aggressor. Nobody is talking about a partnership with Russia

said the chairman.

Regarding the situation of Ukraine and the country’s possible entry into NATO, Andrzej Duda spoke about finding the right path.

We looked for the opportunity to find the clearest possible path for Ukraine to join NATO, and I think we succeeded. And it seems to me that President Zelensky understands this. The conclusions mention Ukraine’s invitation to NATO

he said.

On July 13, the president convened a meeting of the National Security Council.

I wanted to discuss these Alliance decisions with representatives of the Polish political class. (…) The RBN is an advisory body to the president. I just wanted to hear what they thought of the NATO provisions. (…) I wanted to show that I treat them seriously, just as they take Poland’s security problems seriously

– he said.

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mly/TVP