We all expect that after the current situation around Ukraine we will have as much trust in Euro-Atlantic security institutions as we had 15 years ago. Ukraine is for all of us the most important test of maturity, unity and solidarity. I have no doubt that the Euro-Atlantic community will pass this exam.
By Ambassador Marek Jeziorski
It is a great honour to participate in this conference dedicated to the 5th anniversary of Albania’s membership in NATO. We in Poland do understand very well the emotions of Albanian people in the context of the anniversary. It was a turning point in the Albanian history and I would like to most sincerely congratulate our Albanian friends on this occasion.
Let me start by saying that main foundations of the current Polish foreign policy, including security policy, were laid down during Poland’s democratic transformation. The process started with the Round Table talks and the first partly democratic elections in the Eastern Block held on the 4th of June 1989, decisively won by the Solidarity movement and followed by the first in the region non-communist government led by Tadeusz Mazowiecki, still before the Berlin Wall collapsed on November the 9th 1989. Already at that time, and later when Lech Wałęsa was elected President of the Republic, our European and Euro-Atlantic orientation was clear and became our main strategic goal.
Last month Poland celebrated its 15th anniversary of membership in NATO. On the 12th of March 1999 when we joined the Alliance we were extremely grateful. And we still are. It was one of the most significant moments in the Polish modern history. It’s hard to imagine stronger guarantees of our security than membership in NATO. It is the cornerstone of our collective security. Fundamentals of Euro-Atlantic security, i.e. unity, allied solidarity and strong transatlantic link, all of them are based on reliable political mechanisms, contingency planning and, what is getting an increasing importance at the moment, constantly updated defense capabilities.
Last 15 years was the period of an unprecedented economic and social development of Poland. It was possible, among others, due to the favorable security situation in Europe and in the region which allowed us to focus on issues of key importance in the process of moving forward our economy. It was also a period of many lessons learned in the field of security, of our engagement in allied operations far from the NATO area and of crucial modernization of our armed forces which still continues. Our active involvement in the security policy and in the allied operations, as well as our historical and the most recent experience, based on realistic evaluation of challenges and threats, give us the right to clearly express our security considerations and concerns.
Sadly today the annexation of Crimea by Russia, its illegal military intervention and the security situation around Ukraine put a shadow on the celebration events in connection with mentioned important anniversaries. We have to do now with the violation of territorial integrity of an independent state of Ukraine and with threats to its security.
Having said that I would like to stress that Poland does not perceive the crisis any more through the security of Ukraine exclusively, and not even only through the security of the region, but through the prism of the security of the whole transatlantic community.
Our relations with Russia have a special dimension because of the role played by this country in our security environment. Today this role is obviously negative. During the last weeks Russia earned many points of distrust. As President Obama said in Brussels on the 26thof March: “Russia’s leadership is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident, that in the 21st century the borders of Europe cannot be redrawn by force, that international law matters, that people and nations can make their own decisions about their future”. We must not show complacency because, quoting again President Obama, “ƣonsequences that would arise from complacency are not abstractions”.
We may take into account Russian security concerns, but not when they are against values that are fundamental for our community of Allies and partners. Aggressive language and deeds of Russia clearly had a negative impact upon the international relations and security in the region. Russia has violated fundamental norms of international law, its international commitments. The security environment in Europe is different than, let’s say, two months ago: military aspects of security in the region have been deteriorating relatively fast and, at least to some Western observers, in an unpredictable way. The course of events in Ukrainian Crimea and around other parts of this country, as well as justifications provided by Kremlin proved that Moscow can still pose a major threat to the security and sovereignty of the Allies and Partners. It would be hard to neglect it when we consider possible reactions of the Euro-Atlantic community as a whole and of the Alliance itself. We cannot afford now to have any gap in our defense capabilities. We cannot pass by possible threats and challenges. We have to work to ensure a coordinated, united and effective response.
The way the Alliance will deal with the crisis situation in Ukraine will have a crucial impact on the future of NATO and on the future of entire security architecture in the whole Euro-Atlantic area. The crisis created an atmosphere to start a thorough debate on the character of the above challenges and threats. New security conditions must be reflected in debates and decisions of the upcoming NATO Summit.
Let me focus on some aspects of the position of NATO in a new security environment.
For some time we have been engaged in searching for a meaningful role of the Alliance in the security architecture. The Russian policy and Russia’s actions against Ukraine made us feel less secure, but at the same time it made our task to define the current mission of NATO somewhat easier. We return now to think of NATO primarily as the military and political alliance to provide in the first instance security and defense for its member states. The situation requires change in the Alliance viewpoint and finding answers to questions on how to effectively defend territorial integrity of member states in case of a possible threat. In this context the security and defense situation in Europe, on the European theatre, as well article 5 possible tasks require again our focus, our attention and our efforts.
At the same time reaffirming our commitment to our Partners, like Ukraine, by intensifying cooperation and by implementing measures to strengthen its capacities to provide its own security, would be very much needed as well.
One of the conclusions we should draw from the recent developments in Eastern Europe is that we must be determined in constructing and strengthening our military capabilities. Now only four NATO member states in Europe, including Poland, allocate around 2% of their GDP for defense.
Military capabilities mean not only spending. In our view, it would be advisable to prepare and, in case of necessity, to update NATO contingency plans.
We are grateful that President Obama in its Brussels speech reiterated again the obligation to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all allies. “NATO nations never stand alone” – he said. In this context one cannot overestimate the importance of the US armed forces continuing its permanent deployment in Europe. It is also crucial to reflect on possible ways of ensuring physical deployment of NATO troops, including US troops, on the territory of the NATO members in Central Europe, like Poland. Let me quote here one important point in the statement by NATO foreign ministers of 1 April 2014: “We will continue to provide appropriate reinforcement and visible assurance of NATO’s cohesion and commitment to deterrence and collective defense against any threat of aggression to the Alliance”.
One could justifiably argue that the Alliance would be further strengthened by continuation of the NATO open door policy.
Before concluding, I would also like to refer to one crucial aspect of security of Europe, the energy security. It is being debated mainly within the European Union, but it has a direct impact on the capabilities of the whole Euro-Atlantic community to ensure its overall security. I will mention some elements of our thinking on the matter as they were preliminarily presented by the prime minister of Poland. It is indispensable to construct an effective mechanism of gas solidarity in case of sudden interruptions of gas delivery. New installations enabling the gas solidarity should be jointly financed. One should also consider collective energy purchasing at the European level. Various indigenous energy resources should be supported, including traditional and non-conventional ones. A radical diversification of energy and gas deliveries is needed, including imports to Europe from across the Atlantic. Finally, ensuring energy security in the EU neighboring countries, including Ukraine, Moldova and Balkan states, would strengthen the energy security of the EU itself.
We all expect that after the current situation around Ukraine we will have as much trust in Euro-Atlantic security institutions as we had 15 years ago. Ukraine is for all of us the most important test of maturity, unity and solidarity. I have no doubt that the Euro-Atlantic community will pass this exam.
These were the remarks of the Polish Ambassador to Tirana at a conference this week organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies to mark Albania’s fifth anniversary of NATO membership.
