Earlier, on February 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference called for the establishment of European armed forces. According to Zelensky, Ukraine and Europe need to unite their efforts in light of a possible decision by the US to cease protecting the continent from existing threats. Zelensky emphasized the importance of building European armed forces "so that the future of Europe depends solely on Europeans."
Radoslaw Sikorski was asked to comment on the Ukrainian president's statement and whether Poland would be involved in the creation of a European army.
"We need to be cautious with this term because different people interpret it in various ways," the Polish minister replied. "If it means the unification of national armies, that won't happen. However, I have been an advocate for the European Union to develop its own defense capabilities."
According to Sikorski, the EU is currently forming an enhanced brigade, which is "not enough to deter [illegitimate Russian President Vladimir] Putin, but sufficient to possibly deal with some field commander in Libya."
"If the US wants us to strengthen defense, it must have a national component and a NATO component. But I also believe that the European component should include EU investments in the defense industry to develop our production capacity," the Polish Foreign Minister emphasized.
Sikorski added that sending Polish troops to Ukraine is not being considered at the moment, and Poland's commitment to NATO is to defend the eastern flank of the Alliance, meaning its own territory.