“This is not the time for naivety and promoting pacifism” Jan Parys, former Minister of National Defense said in an interview with Schuman Optics Magazine.
“President Zelensky did not lose the war in Ukraine. In my opinion, it was lost by President Biden, who through his personal decision inhibited the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine over the last two years. It’s hard for me to say how the new Donald Trump administration can clean up this situation. This is not easy because Ukraine is negotiating from a weak position. It lost 20 percent of the territory and many people” Jan Parys said, summarizing the military operations in Ukraine so far.
Referring to the potential threat to Central and Eastern Europe from Russian aggression, Jan Parys stated: “It is difficult to be sure what Vladimir Putin’s real intentions are”. “I think the situation in Russia is not easy at all. There are several hundred thousand injured and many thousands dead. The economy is switched to war mode, but it is not modernizing. It is not the case that Russia can wage this war indefinitely, ignoring the social or financial costs, so sooner or later it will be willing to negotiate”.
“No European country can defend its territory against a Russian attack on its own. European countries are too weak economically and militarily, so they are forced to operate within the North Atlantic Alliance. As for the idea of collective defense of the European Union, it is still a loose project, or rather a slogan, which has little chance of its implementation resulting in a real armed force. European countries have spent too little on armaments over the last 20 years, which is why they do not have sufficient arms or ammunition factories today. They do not have modern technological solutions important for defense. Therefore, Europe without the United States is completely helpless towards Russia. I don’t know why European leaders don’t want to admit it openly” – the former Minister of National Defense said, pointing out that politicians “have exposed their countries and the whole of Europe to the fact that it is defenseless against Russia”.
“European countries should realize that we have a worse situation than the one that existed during the Cold War, because at that time Russia was not waging any war in Europe, but now it is waging such a war. We need to return to the solutions that existed at that time, i.e. military spending must be significantly increased” – he postulated, adding that “we cannot tolerate the fact that Russia has a military advantage over European countries, neither in conventional weapons nor in nuclear ones”
Referring to the opinion of prof. Pablo de la Fuente, who said during the Schuman Trimarium Forum that Poland should have nuclear weapons for deterrence purposes, Jan Parys said: “Poland currently does not have the capacity to produce such missiles. However, we can be a shareholder of the nuclear sharing program, which means that we may have nuclear weapons deployed here, which would be at the disposal of the owner, i.e. the United States, and the F-35 planes that Poland has already purchased are capable of carrying such weapons and this would undoubtedly be a very serious deterrent factor when it comes to defending the eastern flank, not only Poland”.
He noted that “nothing prompts aggression like the other side’s weakness, so the first thing is to prevent Russia from feeling its military advantage in any field”.
“European countries are rich, have a large population, have economic potential and are able to expand their armed forces. It just requires some determination and political decisions” – the former head of the Ministry of Defense said.
“This is not the time to promote pacifism”
According to Jan Parys, the key to this is to convince societies that such expenditures are necessary. Meanwhile, as he pointed out, there is no understanding in Western societies for pro-defense attitudes, because intellectual elites have been convinced for the last thirty years that there is no threat from Russia.
“We no longer live in a world of peace. We live in a world of confrontation. And the main military threat to Europe is Russia” – Parys concluded.
Referring to the media storm surrounding the words of General Wiesław Kukuła, who announced that he would prepare the army for war, Jan Parys noted: “This is proof that even in Poland, part of the elite does not understand the situation our country is in. So they react hysterically to a statement that is completely normal”. He emphasized that today an important problem of NATO countries – which is also noticed by the commanders of the Alliance’s troops – “is the low public awareness of the threats we live in”. “From what I know, all NATO chiefs of staff have been advised to appear publicly and inform the public and soldiers about the need to prepare for the defense of the country, i.e. for war. Gen. Kukuła followed the recommendation prepared at NATO headquarters” – he said. “Modern equipment alone, money is not enough, defense requires the will to fight, and the will to fight is social awareness that needs to be worked on” – he noted. “This is not the time for naivety and promoting pacifism” – he concluded.
Anna Wiejak