Warsaw Summit will be a “landmark Summit”, says NATO Secretary General

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Polish President Andrzej Duda met on 30 May in Warsaw to discuss preparations for the Warsaw Summit.

Speaking at a joint press point with the Polish President, Mr. Stoltenberg said that the Warsaw Summit, which will take place in five weeks from now, “comes at a crucial time, when we face the most serious security challenges in a generation”.

The NATO Secretary General said that the Warsaw Summit in July will be a “landmark Summit”. The Alliance will take decisions to strengthen its deterrence and defence and step up efforts to project stability beyond its borders.

“We have agreed to enhance our forward presence in the eastern part of our Alliance. This will be a multinational presence. It will be a rotational presence. We have clear proposals on the table from our military planners. We are discussing the exact numbers and locations on this enhanced forward presence of NATO troops; and we will make decisions by the Warsaw Summit. So let me be clear: there will be more NATO troops in Poland after the Warsaw Summit, to send a clear signal that an attack on Poland will be considered an attack on the whole Alliance,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

“We will also expand our efforts to project stability beyond our borders; by supporting partners like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the east and Iraq, Jordan and Tunisia in the south. We are helping them build stronger defence institutions and train capable forces to secure their own countries”, NATO Secretary General added.

Mr. Stoltenberg also said that the Summit will cement Alliance’s cooperation with key partners, especially the European Union and stressed the need for closer cooperation with the EU in response to hybrid, cyber and maritime security challenges.