Poland was already spending close to 4 percent of GDP on defense and, if the need arose, was prepared to double that figure, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told CNN during an interview on Sunday.
Sikorski specified that if Russian President Vladimir Putin “really threatens us,” Poland will “double” its defense spending.
“We will not be a Russian colony again,” added Sikorski, signaling that on this issue, Poland was not prepared for any compromises.
Sikorski also said in the interview that the NATO alliance “is not a contract with a neighborhood security company: You pay and therefore, you protect me.” He pointed to the fact that “Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which established NATO, has only been invoked once so far, after 9/11 in defense of the United States.”
Sikorski then emphasized Poland’s commitment to U.S. security.
“After the appeal from the United States, we sent troops to Afghanistan. Poland sent a brigade to Ghazni, a tough province. Before that, we sent a brigade to Iraq, where we were responsible for protecting 5 million Iraqis. When that mission was accomplished, we did not send an invoice to Washington.”
He said that this was evidence that “the alliance helps the United States, not just its allies.”
Asked about a recent statement by former U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that the U.S. would not defend NATO countries that do not spend enough on defense, Sikorski acknowledged that there was a need for NATO states to spend more.
“We hope this is just the former president’s flamboyant style, that what he meant was that he really wants us to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense, and in substance he’s right,” he said.
