Poland is at risk of war within a few months? The Chancellery of the President wants a report after the Prime Minister's interview with “FT”

The head of BPM, Marcin Przydacz, announced that he was to ask the coordinator of the secret services to present a “broad report and basis for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's claims from the interview with the Financial Times.” At this stage, the Presidential Palace did not receive any information that Poland was at risk of war in the next few months, he added.

Prime Minister Tusk said in an interview for the Financial Times published last Friday that he sometimes “has some problems” with believing that Article 5 of the Washington Treaty on the mutual defense of NATO allies is still in force. He emphasized that the US treats Poland as one of the best and closest allies in Europe, but the key is how it would work in practice if “something happened.”

According to him, “the biggest and most important question for Europe is whether the United States is ready to be as loyal as described in our (NATO) treaties.” He also warned that Russia could attack an Alliance member within “months rather than years.” He assessed that the EU should strengthen its own mutual defense clause contained in Art. 42 section 7 of the Treaty on EU.

When asked about the Prime Minister's words, the head of the Presidential Office of International Policy said at Monday's briefing that “at this stage, the Presidential Palace has not received any information of this type, either from the Ministry of Diplomacy, from the secret services or from other analytical centers, stating that Poland is at risk of war in the next few months.”

– If the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland says directly that Poland is threatened by war from Russia in a few months, far-reaching preparations would have to be started, and we do not think that the Prime Minister would actually take such actions. So either he is a frivolous person or he hides information, there is no third option – said Przydacz.

He informed that President Karol Nawrocki had authorized him “to apply to the government, specifically to the coordinator of the secret services, to present a broad report on this situation and the basis for the Prime Minister's claims.”

– If the Prime Minister says so, it means that he is saying it based on some hard data. It seems necessary for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to also become familiar with this data. If they are not there, then the question is for the Prime Minister why he says such things publicly and whether it builds the dignity of the Republic of Poland. In my opinion, if this may turn out to be untrue, it certainly does not build the dignity of the Prime Minister himself,” Przydacz said.

He also added that “it is not in the interest of the Polish state to undermine trust in our allies.”

– If someone, especially the Prime Minister, comes out and says that he does not trust or does not want to trust our key allies, thus undermining the content of Art. 5, this is exactly what the Russian Federation would expect today, said the head of BPM.

He added that Russia wants the belief in allied security guarantees to be undermined and “is doing this by constantly testing the public reaction.” – I wonder why the Prime Minister starts playing in this type of orchestra, because it certainly does not serve the interests of the Polish state – said Przydacz.

In an interview with the FT, the Prime Minister noted that his words should not be treated “as skepticism towards Article 5.” Washington Treaty, but rather as “a dream that guarantees on paper will turn into something very practical.”

Referring to his interview for “FT” on Friday, the Prime Minister told journalists that “Russia is committing further acts of aggression” and “we cannot limit ourselves only to declarations, guarantees, treaties, (the EU – PAP) must have practical decisions that directly concern the security of, among others, the eastern border, and they must also be European decisions.” Tusk also noted that Poland has no reason to complain about cooperation with the US, especially when it comes to defense issues. He said that the US was right when it said that Europe should be able to defend itself. (PAP)

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