Polish President: Russia is greatest world threat
During the last day of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Warsaw, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Russia is the greatest threat to global peace, and its actions in Georgia in 2008, the annexation of the Crimea and the invasion of the Donbas demonstrate the true intentions of the Russian Federation, reports Polskie radio.
"Russia is the biggest threat to the security of Europe and the world. The invasion of Georgia in 2008, the unlawful annexation of Crimea, and military intervention in Ukraine illustrate Russia’s true intentions. Recent events have proven that the Kremlin allows itself to commit assassination attempts using chemical weapons on the territory of NATO member states, and interferes in democratic processes," the Polish president said.
"There is no doubt that these phenomena and processes are extremely disturbing, particularly for Central and Eastern Europe ... It is regrettable to admit that Russia has never accepted the fall of the imperial Soviet Union, considering the period of the 1990s….[to be] a strategic break," Duda said, reports Evropeyskaya Pravda.
According to Duda, Russia is calling into question the international order that was formed as a result of changes at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. This order, which established peace based on international law and mutual respect for the interests of equal states, has proven unacceptable to Russia in the long term.
Duda also drew attention to "Russia's increasingly challenging actions" in the Mediterranean region and added that "NATO's two-vector policy towards the Russian Federation, determined during the Warsaw summit - that is, more deterrence and defense, and the maintenance of a conditional dialogue - should be preserved. "
In his opinion, Moscow has not demonstrated any reasons for strengthening relations with NATO.
"The experience of the last two years not only did not give any grounds to return to wider cooperation between NATO and Russia, but showed that Moscow is not interested in an honest, constructive dialogue," the Polish president said. He noted that NATO should "draw appropriate conclusions."
The second big threat, according to Duda, is the destabilization of the situation on the southern borders of NATO, where operating terrorist groups threaten the whole of Europe.