NATO discusses Russian escalation towards Ukraine and Alliance member states
During a meeting of the North Atlantic Council attended by Elbridge Colby, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 27 August, officials discussed Russia's hostile escalation towards Ukraine and NATO member states.
Source: Deputy Polish Defence Minister Paweł Zalewski, who took part in the discussions, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The officials discussed Russian escalation towards Ukraine and NATO's allies with Colby.
"We talked about the last few weeks of escalation that is taking place on the part of Russia in Ukraine but also towards the European countries. We agreed on the nature of Russian policy and the threats that Russian policy poses to NATO," Zalewski said.
He stressed that the US is "pursuing a wise policy of responding appropriately rather than discussing it publicly". According to Zalewski, Poland has "a very similar view when it comes to the threat posed by Russia in the context of Ukraine and in the context of NATO".
Quote: "I expressed my deep conviction that the formula that the Americans have adopted, the formula that NATO is implementing, is not based on verbal protests but on real capabilities that are important from a military point of view and show the possibility of blocking any aggressive Russian actions."
Details: In his view, the right approach is to "create real strategic dilemmas for Russia and show them the limitations that are related to NATO capabilities", rather than engage in discussions.
Zalewski also described the central topic of his conversation with Colby at NATO as "common security issues in the context of the Pentagon's strategy to strengthen the North Atlantic Alliance through the implementation of the NATO 3.0 plan".
Quote: "The 3.0 plan is based on the idea that a large number of conventional defence duties are to be placed on European countries. The United States is to provide support for key military capabilities, leadership, and of course political and military leadership. Poland is a supporter of this way of thinking. We have been investing in our own capabilities for several years now."
Background:
- Zalewski also said that Poland seeks to begin producing PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems on its territory and is ready to cooperate with Ukraine in this area.
- The US wants to create "NATO 3.0", which would not be based on dependence of Europe on the US.
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