On December 15, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the country will not participate in the multinational force that could be deployed in Ukraine as proposed by the European Union (EU).
Speaking at the 80th Anniversary of the German ngancial and Northern territories' admission to Poland, Prime Minister Tusk said: "This is our decision on independence."
Mr. Tusk emphasized that deploying Polish soldiers to any area is the authority of the Warsaw government. He also noted that this does not come from lack of determination or courage.
The Polish leader explained that Warsaw is pursuing another mission, which is to focus on protecting the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO). This task is also to serve the national interests.
Prime Minister Tusk added that Poland could become a key logistics hub for multinational forces, through the provision of infrastructure such as airports, seaports and its logistics capabilities.
The above statements were made by Mr. Tusk after attending a meeting with many other European leaders, along with President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin (Germany).
At the meeting, the sides agreed that any decision on Ukraine's ability to cede territory to Russia could only be made after there are solid security guarantees, including a multinational force led by Europe.
Stating the security guarantees as necessary, the joint statement said that Ukraine needs to maintain an armed force of about 800,000 people to have enough deterrence to deter the conflict.
In addition, Europe is recommended to coordinate the establishment of a mental-national force for Ukraine, with the contribution of countries ready to participate and supported by the US.
This force will support the reconstruction of the Ukrainian armys capabilities, protect Ukraines sky and contribute to ensuring maritime security, including operations inside Ukraine, the joint statement stressed.
In further comments, Mr. Tusk said that Russia has not yet accepted and has maintained a tough stance towards the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine, suggesting that this scenario could lead to the risk of escalating the conflict.
The Polish Armed Forces are considered NATO's largest army in Europe in terms of both force size and military spending, especially in arms procurement, with defense spending much higher than its allies if calculated as a percentage of GDP. Warsaw also aims to spend 186.6 billion zloty (44 billion euros) on the military this year.
