The summit, the largest in NATO’s history, opened on Friday afternnon. Eighteen presidents including Barack Obama, 21 prime ministers, alongside 39 defence and 41 foreign ministers were attending the two-day event, attended by delegations from 54 countries. Nearly a dozen international organisations were also scheduled to take part.
The expected outcomes are to continue a strategy outlined at the 2014 NATO summit in the Welsh city of Newport in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and the ensuing security threat triggered by the outbreak of a Kremlin-orchestrated military conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The Warsaw summit is set to confirm that NATO will deploy four international battalions, one of them American, on a rotating basis to Poland and the three Baltic countries, which fear potential Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
During the opening of the summit, Polish President Andrzej Duda said: "Today, we must take the next step, creating a multinational, enhanced forward presence in order to strengthen defence and deterrent capability on the eastern flank of NATO.”
He added: "Today, our countries expect us to fulfill our obligations and duties. That is why this summit must bring stability in times of uncertainty, manifest our unity in times of division and ensure security at a time of threats."
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said following an earlier meeting with Duda: “The decision to enhance NATO’s forward presence with four robust international battalions, one in Poland, and one in each of the Baltic countries, sends a very clear signal that NATO is ready to protect and defend every part of our territory."
The NATO battlegroups, which are to comprise 800 to 1,000 troops each, will be deployed for six to nine months, then immediately replaced by a successor.
Each of the battlegroups is to be led by a so-called framework nation, which will assume command and provide the bulk of the troops.
The US, Britain, Germany and Canada have declared they will take on such a role.
US President Barack Obama also said that a US armoured brigade would arrive in Europe at the beginning of next year, with its headquarters to be located in Poland.
Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz stressed that NATO is a defensive alliance - “one that only responds to threats, in order to defend its members."
NATO leaders are also set to arrive at decisions related to the Alliance’s southern flank and neighbouring regions, particularly in the face of threats posed by Islamist fundamentalist terrorism and the need to join forces with the international anti-terrorist coalition to fight the so-called Islamic State in the Middle East.
The Warsaw summit is also expected to bring about a decision on steady financial support for Afghanistan’s armed forces and police until 2020.
The gathering is also expected to produce a declaration by the 28 NATO country leaders on Georgia’s prospective entry into the North Atlantic Alliance, alongside a support package for Ukraine. (aba/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP