The Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak opened an international, two-day symposium NATO Resilience Symposium 2022 in Warsaw. He also gave an opening speech. The forum is devoted to current challenges and threats to international security.
“The ongoing Russian invasion on sovereign Ukraine shattered our convictions that the horror of full-scale war in Europe belonged to the past. This unprovoked attack, facilitated by Belarus has confirmed Russia’s readiness to pursue its neo-imperial ambitions through military means,” Mariusz Błaszczak said.
He also pointed out that a strong and coherent response to Russia’s actions had inevitably been a shocking surprise for Moscow. “It has exposed us to retaliatory measured from Russia with the unlawful suspension of gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland as its most recent step in that regard,” he said.
“The change in the security environment of Europe and especially on the NATO’s Eastern Flank that has started in 2014 or even earlier, in Georgia in 2008, persists and will persist. Our security environment will be more and more challenging and unpredictable, and thus, will require a more whole-of-country approach better integrating both civilian and military capabilities to make us more resilient. Poland, as Russia’s neighbour and both NATO and the EU flank country, attaches great importance to strengthening its resilience,” he said at the opening of the NATO Resilience Symposium 2022 in Warsaw which focuses on challenges and threats to international security.
“Poland strongly supports further works within NATO and EU aimed at coordinating and facilitating those efforts, as strengthening our individual resilience contributes to the resilience of our whole community,” the Minister of National Defence pointed out.
“War in Ukraine also shows how the concept of territorial defence is working in practice. Motivated, patriotic and well-commanded volunteers may become a highly effective tool in both fighting and the enemy. Ukraine is inevitably a huge testing ground for the concept of resilience and we should learn our lessons from its experience (…) I hope that the next NATO Resilience Symposium will be held in Ukraine,” Błaszczak concluded.
Minister @mblaszczak: Ukraine?? is inevitably a huge testing ground for the concept of resilience and we should learn our lessons from its experience.(…)I hope that the next #NATO Resilience Symposium will be held in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/SRiZXzz6hC
— Poland MOD ?? (@Poland_MOD) May 5, 2022
Addressing the symposium, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Philippe Lavigne said that the example of Ukraine has shown that effective resilience also depends on the fighting spirit.
According to him, the Ukrainian people and their leaders have demonstrated how morale, determination and adapted strategies, as well as tactics, may allow one to counter the overwhelming military capabilities.
Lavigne also pointed out the difficulty of counteracting such threats as spreading fake news and doubts about democratic institutions and traditions without losing freedom of speech and the press.