I am not worried about NATO's future, says Polish defence minister
The Polish deputy prime minister and defence minister has said that he is calm about the future of the North Atlantic Alliance when asked about the ongoing heated discussion regarding Greenland and its possible impact on NATO.
"There is not an alternative to NATO. There is no NATO without the US and there is no strength of the US without its presence in the alliance," Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in Krakow, southern Poland, on Monday, in a response to a question concerning the ongoing dispute regarding Greenland.
"I am not worried about the future of the alliance," Kosiniak-Kamysz repeated, adding that "today we have politics in which many words are said but later they are verified by actions."
"It would benefit no one to weaken NATO, including the US," he said.
According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, the strength of the US influence will significantly weaken without NATO.
"Europe needs America but, in order to keep the American presence, it must be an equal ally for the US, and must follow a path of a very dynamic growth of security spending," Kosiniak-Kamysz added.
He described Poland as an exemplary US ally and added that Polish-US relations had been continuously developing.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Copenhagen to hand over or sell the world's biggest island to the United States, citing national security concerns. In a recent interview with the New York Times newspaper, he suggested that Washington might ultimately be forced to choose between Greenland and NATO.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said he would introduce an extra 10-percent tariff on imports from eight European allies that resist what he described as Washington's security-driven intention to take over Greenland. The levy would take effect on February 1 and rise to 25 percent on June 1, remaining in place until the US assumes control of the self-governing Danish territory.
The countries named by Trump — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom — are already subject to tariffs imposed by his administration. On Sunday, they reiterated their solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, both of which have rejected Trump's annexation plans.
The EU will hold an extraordinary summit on Thursday to discuss the situation. (PAP)
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