Poland’s foreign minister says a long-term rearmament rearmament in Europe is necessary to thwart Russia’s imperial ambitions, in which the UK can play the closest role.
Radoslaw Sikorski also called for a majority vote on EU sanctions and the creation of a 5,000-strong EU mechanized brigade, saying Poland was willing to support an EU-wide plan to incentivize Ukrainian deserters to return to their homeland.
In an interview with the Guardian, Sikorski said that Poland supports Ukraine’s right to attack military targets in Russia and believes that the West must stop constantly restricting its actions to support Ukraine. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has consistently opposed Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons on Russian soil.
Sikorski, who was educated at Oxford University with David Cameron, was in London for a bilateral meeting with the foreign secretary. Sikorski has been a key figure in steering Poland back into the mainstream of European foreign policy since last October’s elections produced a new coalition government and ended eight years of rule by the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party.
He had just returned from the so-called Weimar Triangle with the foreign ministers of France and Germany in Berlin and was now seen as the EU’s new political power.
Although he said Russia had mainly won small and costly victories, the Weimar Group backed a broad attempt to fill the huge gap in EU defense capabilities that emerged at the end of the Cold War.
Poland spends 4% of its GDP on defense, and Sikorski said other countries need to catch up. This requires a military reorientation, he said, adding that during the “peace dividend and expeditionary warfare era, we focused on high-value, high-tech platforms and weapons.” We are only now rediscovering that you actually only need millions of shell. You also need a lot of low-tech stuff.
He said: “After the Cold War, we allowed all these production facilities to close. It cost money to convince companies to keep the production lines. We just didn’t pay. This was part of the peace dividend. In hindsight, it seems to have been a mistake. Europe was clearly lagging behind. , the EU’s defence, technology and industrial base have been underinvested in for many years.
He admitted that European defense manufacturers still did not believe that the rearmament process was permanent, and said that Vladimir Putin, who spends 40% of GDP on defense, will eventually bankrupt his country due to a lack of military resources. . The Russian military-industrial complex employs 3.5 million people. In contrast, “Europe not only disarmed but also deindustrialized the defense sector,” Sikorski said.
He said: “Companies told me, ‘We read in the newspapers that the demand for armaments was so great, but we didn’t get a long-term contract. If we didn’t get a 10-year contract, we’d be accountable to our shareholders. We couldn’t. Make investments. So it’s about reassuring them that this is not just for tomorrow, but a long-term rearmament and security change.
When it comes to setting sanctions, he said the Weimar conference agreed to advocate for a more comprehensive coordination role for the EU. “We should abandon the principle of unanimity in sanctions. Some of these plans have been delayed because of blocking by one Member State. Breach of EU sanctions should also be considered an EU crime and therefore prosecutable by European prosecutors.”
Sikorski, a long-time student of Russian methods, warned that Putin was trying to woo the right wing in Europe and the United States by weaponizing traditionalism. “He’s the ridiculous leader of international conservatism. Oh my gosh, we’re talking about a KGB colonel. I think the Russians did some polls about 15 years ago, or maybe they just noticed, on some issues like homosexuality Attitudes about gender, identity, you can create divisions in our society. For example, attitudes in Central Europe are 10 to 15 years behind Western Europe at this point.
Newsletter Promotion Post
Although he said the Weimar triangle would have expanded into a quartet if not for Brexit, Sikorski said Poland was in favor of “integrating the UK as much as possible into EU security and defense structures, if you will”.
He said: “You are an island, but you are a European island. You may have had an affair elsewhere, but to us you are married. EU-UK security and defense cooperation must be reinvigorated and organized in a more organized manner.” framework as the basis.
“I could imagine Britain being a permanent guest of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I mean, I could imagine. Yes. Whether Britain wants to is another matter.
Regarding the idea of a comprehensive diplomatic and defense treaty, he said: “Your governments have to decide what you want. I think this initiative has to come from you and you can trust that Poland is very receptive to these ideas.” He later listed areas of cooperation Includes structured dialogue on Euro-Atlantic military capability development, rapid reaction forces, resilience, hybrid cyber and disinformation countermeasures, and European defense industry cooperation.
Regarding the issue of Ukrainians avoiding conscription, Sikorsky said: “Ukraine must tell us what she wants us to do with her citizens. I certainly do not believe that deserters have the right to social security. Those who are fighting on the front lines People also have human rights.
He said any plans to restrict benefits must be implemented across Europe, otherwise those who evaded the draft would start buying up benefits across Europe.
He said Europe must learn to play the escalation game better and keep Putin guessing about his intentions. Asked whether Ukraine was allowed to attack military targets in Russia, he said: “Russia is attacking Ukraine’s power grid, grain terminals, gas storage capacity, civilian infrastructure. The Russian operation was carried out from its headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. . Russia doesn’t limit itself much other than not using nuclear weapons.
More broadly, he argued: “Always declaring our own red lines will only allow Moscow to tailor its hostilities to our changing self-limitations.”
He cast doubt on Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons, saying: “The Americans told the Russians that if you detonate a nuclear weapon, even if it doesn’t kill anyone, we will hit all of your targets.” [positions] Use conventional weapons in Ukraine and we will destroy all of them.
“I think this is a credible threat. In addition, the Chinese and Indians have read out the Russian anti-riot bill. This is not child’s play, because if this taboo is also broken, like the taboo not to change borders by force, China Know that Japan and South Korea are going to have nuclear weapons, and they probably don’t want that.
