“No, I do not feel Poland is in any danger now,” Janusz Korwin-Mikke said in answer to whether he approves of the calls of Poland’s recently sworn-in President Andrzej Dudas for an expanded NATO presence in his country.
Last week, in an address to the parliament, Duda said that Poland, and other Central European countries, needed stronger guarantees from NATO in the present geopolitical situation.
Poland shares a border with Ukraine, which has been the scene of hostilities since April 2014, when Kiev-led forces launched a military campaign against militias in the country’s southeast.
Korwin-Mikke underlined that Poland should stay neutral with regard to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. “I repeat: it is Ukraine, not Poland that has conflict with Russia.”
Moreover, he stressed that he became disenchanted with NATO following the alliance’s 50th anniversary when he saw that “it is getting aggressive pact in the interests of the United States.”
NATO has been building up its presence in Eastern Europe since Crimea's reunification with Russia in March 2014, in response to what it termed Moscow's "aggressive foreign policy." Russia has repeatedly stated that the bloc's increased activities near its borders undermine regional stability.
Latvia, as well as its Estonian and Lithuanian neighbors, has requested a permanent deployment of NATO forces on its soil, which is viewed by Russia as an attempt to further escalate tensions near the country’s borders and undermine regional security.
In recent months, the Polish and Ukrainian governments have put increased pressure on Washington for security safeguards from NATO in the wake of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.
