President Nawrocki meets defence minister to coordinate Poland's NATO summit stance

Pre-summit coordination

President Nawrocki and Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz held talks on Wednesday afternoon, with consultations beginning shortly after 15:00 and lasting just over an hour. The meeting at the Presidential Palace was aimed at unifying Poland's voice before the NATO summit in Ankara on 7–8 July. Deputy Defence Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka had previewed the agenda a day earlier, stressing that both the president and the defence minister had been conducting separate consultations with allied partners in recent weeks.

A timeline of key coordination steps illustrates the broader effort to cement a common Polish position.

The presidency earlier confirmed that President Nawrocki would attend the summit alongside his wife, accompanied by representatives from the defence and foreign ministries.

Permanent US military presence

Another major topic was the push to transform the current rotational US troop presence in Poland into a permanent stationing arrangement. Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau, said there is "considerable openness on the American side" and credited "good personal relations with President Nawrocki" for the progress.

“Politically, we are working on securing that agreement, but in practical, executive terms, the defence minister must now get down to work.”

Przydacz emphasised that the government still needs to deliver the legal and physical infrastructure for a permanent US deployment, urging Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz to move from diplomacy to concrete execution.

Speaking with one voice

Sobkowiak-Czarnecka underlined that the overriding objective was to ensure Poland’s leaders present a unified front.

“It is good for Polish authorities to speak with one voice on international matters.”

She confirmed that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski will also be part of the delegation in Ankara.

The Ankara summit

NATO leaders will gather in the Turkish capital on 7–8 July. Poland’s delegation, led by President Nawrocki, will include the defence minister and the foreign minister. The summit is expected to address the future of the alliance, regional security, and the permanent stationing of allied forces on the eastern flank.