WARSAW: Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces “is not unthinkable” and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea.
Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO in the Polish parliament Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English.
They reflect a larger European debate over how to help Ukraine as Russia has gained some momentum on the battlefield and Kyiv is running low on ammunition. The US Congress is withholding aid that Ukraine says it critically needs to hold off the Russians, putting more pressure on Europe to respond to the war that has shattered peace on the continent.
Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that broke a taboo among allies and prompted an outcry from other leaders. French officials later sought to clarify Macron’s remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win its war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among those European leaders who initially ruled out sending troops to Ukraine after Macron’s remarks, saying: “Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine.”
But less than two weeks later Sikorski struck a different tone.
“The presence of #NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable,” he said, according to the Foreign Ministry’s tweet. He said he appreciated Macron’s initiative “because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin.”
Sikorski’s remark is part of a broader shift to align with Macron’s position, wrote Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
“The issue of sending European forces to help Ukraine was never one to be dismissed — it was always a possibility,” O’Brien wrote in an email analysis sent to subscribers Saturday. “In fact it has become more of one as the USA has stepped back and withdrawn aid. Europe is now faced with a terrible dilemma — watching Ukraine potentially run out of ammunition, or stepping in and helping Ukraine more directly.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda and Tusk will travel to Washington for a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, a visit the Poles hope they can use to spur the United States to do more to help Ukraine.
Poland is a member of NATO along the alliance’s eastern flank, with Ukraine across its eastern border. The country has been under Russian control in the past, and fears run high that if Russia wins in Ukraine, it could next target other countries in a region that Moscow views as its sphere of interest.
Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is ‘not unthinkable’
https://arab.news/z87pz
Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is ‘not unthinkable’
- Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO
- The Kremlin has warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable
Junta leader Gen. Mamdi Doumbouya is declared winner of Guinea’s election, provisional results show
- Mamady Doumbouya took power in 2021 coup
CONAKRY, Guinea: Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday, completing the return to civilian rule in the bauxite- and iron ore-rich West African nation.
The former special forces commander, thought to be in his early 40s, seized power in 2021, toppling then-President Alpha Conde, who had been in office since 2010. It was one in a series of nine coups that have reshaped politics in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The provisional results announced on Tuesday showed Doumbouya winning 86.72 percent of the December 28 vote, an absolute majority that allows him to avoid a runoff.
The Supreme Court has eight days to validate the results in the event of any challenge.
Doumbouya’s victory, which gives him a seven-year mandate, was widely expected. Conde and Cellou Dalein Diallo, Guinea’s longtime opposition leader, are in exile, which left Doumbouya to face a fragmented field of eight challengers.
Doumbouya reversed pledge not to run
The original post-coup charter in Guinea barred junta members from running in elections, but a constitution dropping those restrictions was passed in a September referendum.
Djenabou Toure, the country’s top election official who announced the results on Tuesday night, said turnout was 80,95 percent. However voter participation appeared tepid in the capital Conakry, and opposition politicians rejected a similarly high turnout figure for the September referendum.
Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, officially launched last month after years of delay.
Doumbouya has claimed credit for pushing the project forward and ensuring Guinea benefits from its output.
His government this year also revoked the license of Emirates Global Aluminium’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation following a refinery dispute, transferring the unit’s assets to a state-owned firm.
The turn toward resource nationalism — echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has boosted his popularity, as has his relative youth in a country where the median age is about 19.
Political space restricted, UN says
Political debate has been muted under Doumbouya. Civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, curbing press freedom and restricting opposition activity.
The campaign period was “severely restricted, marked by intimidation of opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances, and constraints on media freedom,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week.
On Monday, opposition candidate Faya Lansana Millimono told a press conference the election was marred by “systematic fraudulent practices” and that observers were prevented from monitoring the voting and counting processes.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
