We don't have time, we need to strengthen the defense industry - Tusk comments on Trump's threat to NATO

While on an official visit to France, the head of the Polish government emphasized the importance of security in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, noting that the EU countries are capable of defending themselves, and also stressed that NATO is "All for one and one for all!" in response to Trump's threat that he would allegedly "encourage" Russia to "do whatever it wants" with NATO countries that spend less than 2% on defense.

This was reported by UNN with reference to Politico and EURACTIV.

Details

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Paris as part of a mini-tour that will later include a trip to Berlin to establish closer ties with Europe's two largest powers. In Paris, the Polish politician met with French President Emmanuel Macron.

During the visit, they discussed how European capitals view the possibility of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Tusk commented  on former US President Donald Trump's words about "encouraging" Russia to "do whatever it wants" with NATO countries that "do not pay" 2 percent of GDP.

According to Polish government sources, the following was stated:

Europe must get together ... This is a question of answering the question of what will happen if Trump wins. We are out of time. We need to have more defense industry capacity

During the joint briefing, Tusk added that it is here, in Paris, that the words from Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers" sound most clearly: "All for one, one for all"

I want to emphasize once again very clearly here in Paris that there is no alternative to the EU, no alternative to transatlantic cooperation, no alternative to NATO. Europe must become a secure continent, and this means that the EU, France, Poland must become strong states, ready to defend their own borders, their own territory, and to protect and support our allies and friends outside the EU

The Polish politician also emphasized that his country and France are traditional friends and noted that "the position of France and Poland is very similar.

And this is on all important issues, both bilateral, intra-European, and those related to the security and geopolitical situation in Europe, especially in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine

Background

Former US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, 10 January, that he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever it wants" with NATO countries that "don't pay", i.e. spend less than 2 per cent of GDP on defence.

I would not defend such a country, Trump said.

The statement by Trump, who is likely to be the Republican candidate in this year's US presidential election, was criticised by the White House and also provoked a strong international reaction. Some Republican politicians also criticised her on Sunday.

The last thing we would ever want to do is side with Russia," said his GOP rival Nikki Haley, who is vying with Trump for the Republican nomination for this year's presidential election.

Recall

Following his meeting with Macron, Tusk said that the positions of the parties are very similar, especially in the context of Russia's aggression in Ukraine

Poland's deputy agriculture minister said that the country will publish a list of companies that imported large quantities of cheap Ukrainian grain while Polish farmers were experiencing financial difficulties.