The New Strategy Center is one of the partners of the Warsaw East European Conference, organized on 1-3 July by the Centre for East European Studies, think tank of the University of Warsaw.
Experts from NATO and EU countries, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova analyzed the multiple aspects of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, the societal impact in Ukraine and the rest of Europe, NATO’s measures for the defense of the Eastern Flank, EU initiatives for Ukraine.
The NSC, as a partner, co-organized a panel entitled “How to Strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank?”, in which the speakers were H.E. Cosmin Onisii, Ambassador of Romania to Poland, H.E. Pawel Soloch, Ambassador of Poland to Romania, LTG Dragoș Iacob, Deputy Chief of the Chief of the Defense General Staff of Romania and MG Cezary Wiśniewski, Deputy Chief of the Chief of the Defense General Staff of Poland. The panel was moderated by George Scutaru, Director General of the NSC.
The discussions highlighted the importance of the strategic partnership between Poland and Romania, analyzed military lessons learned from the Ukrainian front, what NATO could do to deter Russia’s aggressive behavior and stop the invasion of Ukraine, and analyzed Russia’s multi-domain actions in the Baltic and Black Sea region.
Speakers also considered the hybrid actions Russia is taking against EU and NATO states to undermine allied cohesion and stop support for Ukraine.
The conference was a good opportunity for guests from Romania to elaborate on the security situation in the Black Sea region and the efforts Romania is making to ensure freedom of navigation. A free and open Black Sea fostering connectivity, trade and the exploitation of energy resources is vital not only for the countries in the region, but also for NATO and EU security.