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“It is imperative that Europe return to Cold War-era defense spending policies as the war in Ukraine continues,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told CNBC on Wednesday.
The president warned that the security situation in Europe has “changed dramatically” since 2014, when NATO’s defense spending rules were first introduced.
“There is hardly any difference between Soviet imperialism and Putin’s version. It’s about expansionism, gaining territory, dominating other countries and expanding Russia’s sphere of influence,” he told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Thus, today, if we want to protect ourselves from this – and we Poles are determined to do so – we spend about 5% of GDP on defense this year. We are aware that we must modernize our armed forces, we must be strong and provide a real deterrent to deter Russian aggression,” he said, as translated by CNBC.
Duda also called on other NATO members to increase their defense budgets in solidarity. “Percentages alone will not scare Russia,” but if the money goes to expand military capabilities, Russia may be defeated, he said.
“I believe that if NATO members take action and manage to modernize their armed forces everywhere, at least by this 3% of GDP, then they will be able to achieve such a defense capability that any Russian attacks will be useless.”
Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, has been a key supporter of Kiev throughout the war, hosting thousands of civilians fleeing the conflict and donating military aid, including tanks and armored personnel carriers. The total amount of aid from Poland to the region is 3.23 billion euros (or 3.37 billion dollars), according to the Presidential Administration.
On Wednesday, Duda repeated that Russia “needs to fight back” and restore order.
“We are now saying that neither side can win outright, so we must support Ukraine as much as possible so that Russia cannot defeat it, so that Ukraine can drive the Russian army out of as much of the occupied territory as possible. “, he said.
As a NATO member, Poland has also earned some immunity from criticism from the US for spending the most money on defense as a percentage of GDP.
NATO estimates it is estimated that in 2024 Poland spent 4.12% of GDP on defense. The US, which ranks third after Estonia, spent 3.38% of GDP on defense.
Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told CNBC earlier Wednesday that Poland’s relationship with Washington is “very, very good, and we buy a lot of American military equipment, tanks, fighter jets.
“But as (the) European Union, of course, we must remain united in our relationship with the United States. Undoubtedly, it is most important for the EU to focus on returning competitiveness to Europe,” he added.
“I think this is the best response to any possible tension with the US, and we know how to do it, and we’re going to do it one step at a time. And during the Polish presidency (six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union), we will put competitiveness at the heart of the discussion,” Damanski added.
