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NATO chief discusses preparations for Warsaw Summit with Polish president

Xinhua, January 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday discussed preparations for the Warsaw Summit with visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda.

At a press conference, Stoltenberg thanked Poland for being a committed ally, including through its contributions to the Readiness Action Plan, Alliance-led missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, and defense capacity-building for NATO partners.

He said Poland played a significant part in NATO's command structure, supporting operations planning and exercises. "This spring, we will break ground for a key site in Poland for NATO's Ballistic Missile Defence. And a significant number of Allied exercises have taken place in Poland, with many others underway," said Stoltenberg.

"Over the past year, we have been implementing the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War. NATO now has a persistent military presence in the region of which Poland is part," he said.

Stoltenberg also highlighted that Poland has raised its defense spending to 2 percent of GDP.

"We discussed the preparations for the Warsaw Summit, which are well on track," he said, adding that the Summit is a key milestone for the adaptation of the Alliance.

The NATO summit in Warsaw will take place on July 8-9, where NATO heads of state and government will chart the course for the Alliance's adaptation to the new security environment. Endit