The US remains Poland’s most important partner in military cooperation and Warsaw has been and will remain a loyal ally, but it can’t be a “sucker”, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech to parliament on Thursday.
His comments reflect the delicate balancing act that Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU government must perform in maintaining the strong transatlantic bond they see as crucial for national security at a time when US President Donald Trump is upending old certainties about European security.
“We look at the changes in the US with understanding, but also concern,” Sikorski told lawmakers. “We have been and will continue to be a loyal ally of America. But we cannot be suckers.”
Sikorski called for Europe to assume more responsibility for its security and underlined the role of European unity.
“The threat to the sovereignty and security of the Republic of Poland comes from one direction – from the east, not the West … The hour has struck for Europe. Either we stand united, or we will be consumed by greater powers.”
Defending Nato’s eastern flank against a possible Russian aggression would cost at least 1.2 trillion euros (US$1.4 trillion), 24 times more than Poland’s defence budget, Sikorski said, suggesting that current financial and military aid provided to Ukraine was far less than the likely cost of any potential war between Russia and the Atlantic alliance.