NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for increased defense spending and continued support for kyiv amid Donald Trump’s return to power during their meeting in Poland on Wednesday November 13.

Rutte came to Warsaw at the invitation of Tusk. Last week, Tusk announced it would hold a series of meetings to discuss the future of Europe following Trump’s election victory in the United States.

“The relationship is crucial, but it is even more crucial that we have identical views – not similar, but identical – on the situation in the world, including the one that is currently on fire,” Tusk said, referring to on the eastern border of Poland.

During the joint press conference, the two leaders discussed their deep personal friendship, which they believe now has an impact on the good relations between Warsaw and NATO.

“We live in constantly changing (political) circumstances, so it is important that we can place our trust in you, Mark, and in the entire Alliance,” he added, welcoming the fact that the Secretary General understood Poland’s security needs. .

Affirming that Poland is “the cornerstone of NATO policy and NATO presence at this critical time and place,” Tusk said he familiarized Rutte with efforts to strengthen and fortify the eastern border under the East Shield initiative. This would make it “an impassable border for possible aggressors or attackers”.

“Clear message for the United States”

Rutte praised Poland for its excellence in defense spending.

Poland is NATO’s leader in these terms, spending more than 4% of GDP. The country will increase its spending to reach 4.7% by 2025.

“This sends a clear message not only to our adversaries but also to the United States: Europe understands that it must do more to guarantee our common security. And that starts with spending more and deploying more capacity. » Rutte said.

Although Trump’s name was not mentioned during the joint conference, Rutte and Tusk spoke of the need to keep military spending high.

During his campaign, Trump suggested that the United States would not help Europeans facing military attacks if they did not spend enough on defense.

NATO members should spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, but not all are yet meeting this goal.

Tusk also agreed with Rutte that “everything must be done to strengthen transatlantic security cooperation.” He assured the NATO chief that he “could count on Poland and the Polish government here” because “this is the Polish doctrine”.

As European NATO allies fear that, under Trump, the United States could suspend or reduce its support for Ukraine, Rutte congratulated Poland as a strong supporter of kyiv, which “provides crucial military aid and hosts more than a million Ukrainian refugees (…) and hosts the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center.” He insisted on the need to continue collective support for Ukraine.

Defense Minister wants “more respect” from Kyiv

During his visit to Poland, Rutte also met with President Andrzej Duda, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL, EPP) and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (PO, EPP),

He discussed the official opening of the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense base in Redzikowo with Duda and Kosiniak-Kamysz, which he participated in earlier today.

“This site significantly improves our ability to defend against the growing threat of ballistic missiles from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. (…) (This) demonstrates the strong commitment of the United States and Poland to our collective defense,” he said.

Yet the issue of Ukraine was also present, with Kosiniak-Kamysz being brought up in the post-meeting conference to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. recent review of Poland for failing to deliver promised MiG fighter jets and refusing to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine’s western territories, which former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg excluded.

When asked by Euractiv whether he had discussed the matter with Rutte and whether the new secretary general maintained his predecessor’s position, Kosiniak-Kamysz replied that it should rather be Rutte (who was, however, unavailable to respond). to questions) to speak for himself. However, its position is that “no NATO country should make the decision to make such a commitment alone.”

Regarding the delivery of weapons, on the other hand, he said he would like to see “more respect” from kyiv for what Poland has done for Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war.