Sikorski explains when NATO could invoke Article 5 against Russia
Photo: Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (Getty Images)
Poland is confident that NATO's Article 5 will be invoked when necessary if Russia commits an act of aggression, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at a briefing for Ukrainian journalists in Warsaw.
NATO will invoke Article 5 if an attack occurs
Journalists asked Sikorski whether Poland was confident in NATO's Article 5 on collective defense and whether the country would come to the aid of its allies.
There was also a question of how many incursions by Russian drones or missiles over Polish or another country's territory would be required for NATO to recognize direct aggression on Russia's part.
"The answer to both questions is essentially the same: as you know, Article 5 is not as straightforward as some people think. And this is not accidental, because it was deliberately left open-ended — this wording was the limit that the US Congress could agree to in the 1950s," Sikorski said.
The minister noted that Congress did not agree at the time to an automatic entry into war. Instead, it agreed that the political decision on the form of NATO's response would be made after an attack had actually occurred.
"And you are right: this raises different opinions, because it will be a matter of assessment, and the potential aggressor's actions are difficult to predict," he said.
Poland's foreign minister noted that Article 5 has been invoked only once so far.
"But in terms of making the decision, it was simple because 3,500 people were killed as a result of an obvious attack (the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — ed.)," he explained.
Sikorski noted that if something similar happens, Poland and other countries will certainly respond.
Russia is cunning
"You are also right that today’s aggressor is cunning and may deliberately create such dilemmas through actions with blurred accountability and an uncertain scale. However, we will deal with it," Sikorski said confidently.
In his view, Putin is making a mistake by waging a hybrid war against all of Europe. The reason is that this only makes it easier to mobilize public opinion to deter such aggression.
"He fundamentally does not understand the psychology of democratic countries and considers us much more degraded than we actually are. And it turned out that we have been supporting Ukraine for the fifth year already. He certainly didn't foresee that," Sikorski said.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Sikorski considered the invitation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami a mistake. However, Poland does not plan to boycott the event.
In addition, Sikorski said he had directly warned the Russian side about a possible response if Russia attacked NATO countries.
