NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO would not send troops to Ukraine, and President Andrzej Duda confirmed that Polish planes would not fly to Ukraine.
Poland’s president, speaking after his meeting with NATO secretary general at the Łask Air Base in central Poland, underlined that the already stationed F-16 aircraft have now been joined by American F-16 combat aircraft. He also noted that both he and Stoltenberg had on Monday participated in an online meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden to reaffirm NATO unity and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.
Stoltenberg confirmed that NATO would not be sending troops to Ukraine. “NATO is not party to this conflict, and therefore, we do not intend to send any troops to Ukraine or to send our aircraft over Ukrainian airspace,” he said.
Andrzej Duda denied that Poland would be sending aircraft to Ukraine. “We are not sending our aircraft as that would be engaging militarily in a conflict taking place in Ukraine with NATO becoming involved in it. NATO is not a party to this conflict,” underlined Duda.
The NATO secretary general accused President Putin of destroying peace in Europe with his brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. He also criticized Belarus for taking measures in support of Russia.
Duda in turn looked forward to the NATO summit due in Madrid. He hoped that summit would confirm the significant strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank.
Stoltenberg assured that NATO’s Article 5 guarantee remained sacrosanct. He also stressed that NATO remains a defensive alliance which is not seeking confrontation with Russia. He appealed to Russia to end the war in Ukraine and to withdraw its forces from that country.
NATO’s secretary general thanked Poland for its role in NATO and for helping hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine. He emphasized that NATO has shown it determination to defend its eastern flank by significant increases in the numbers of troops stationed.
