Warsaw Security Forum focuses on global security issues

Friday was the second day of the Warsaw Security Forum, the conference preceding NATO Summit that will take place here in July 2016. The conference focuses on the issues of global security in the context of Russian-Ukrainian conflict, problems with asylum seekers in the EU, and the EU-NATO relations.

As emphasized by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow in his speech, "for the first time in NATO's history, we are under pressure on two flanks."

"To the south, we see chaos and violence, failed and failing states, and the potential end of the century-old system of Arab states. And to the east, a newly assertive Russia is throwing its military muscle around in an attempt to get its own way and re-establish hegemony over its neighbors, undermining the foundations of the post-War and post-Cold War order. This is our new strategic reality," he said.

He added that the next year's NATO Summit "will be a chance to take stock of our relationship with Russia, to see what more we can do to introduce greater predictability and transparency."

Vershbow's remarks were welcomed by Polish Head of State Security Bureau Pawel Soloch, who expects NATO "to take the concrete decisions concerning NATO military presence in Central and Eastern Europe."

The Warsaw Security Forum is organized by Warsaw-based Casimir Pulaski Foundation for the second time. Endit