Michal Baranowski

“ Michał Baranowski, the head of the German Marshall Fund in Poland, said his country has a unique perspective on why spending more on defense is essential. But that doesn’t mean all European countries feel the same way.“It’s clear that Europe is waking up. It’s clear the West is waking up. But the question is if we’re waking up at the pace of relevance,” Baranowski said. “We’re talking about how European defense, and defense in general, is expensive. We kind of understand in this part of the world that what’s really expensive is if Ukraine loses the war, and then we actually have to deal with Russians that feel victorious and are trying to push further.” ”

“ Wspólna wizyta Dudy i Tuska w USA. Polska demokracja bardziej dojrzała od amerykańskiej? ”

“ “We are not talking about something that can be fixed by June or July but needs to be fixed in March or April.” ”

“ “There will be lessons for other countries to draw from Poland — both on what to do and not to do — but Tusk has the disadvantage of being the first, trying to clean up without a detox handbook.” ”

“ The EU summit marked “a bittersweet moment in EU’s relations with Ukraine. The EU’s decision to open the negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova is truly historic, even if it’s just a beginning of a long road. The bitterness comes from Hungary’s decision to veto the €50bn financial package, critical for the financial health of the Ukrainian state. ”

“ The Baltic Sea will practically become a NATO lake and then Kaliningrad will be the isolated territory. ”

“ The exit poll pointed to a possible “stable opposition government. ”

“ Poland may now return to the decision-making center of the European Union with the possibility of a stable opposition government. ”

“ Poland could now "return to the decision-making centre of the European Union. ”

“ For the opposition, this is seen pretty widely as an election that if they don’t win this one they might not be able to win another one, that the systemic advantage of the government would be so strong. ”

“ Polish political leaders know we need to stay the course in Ukraine, but they are letting emotions and politics get the better of them. ”

“ Using the apparatus of the state to back a referendum is another vehicle for funds for campaigns and creates a disparity in the amount of funds used by one side not the other. ”

“ Using the apparatus of the state to back a referendum is another vehicle for funds for campaigns and creates a disparity in the amount of funds used by one side not the other. ”

“ From the point of view of Washington, the Polish-Ukrainian alliance is crucial for the security of the region. ”

“ Germany is clearly a target of this campaign. ”

“ Link Tusk with Germany and then attack Germany. The campaign is to merge the two. ”

“ Leading security and defense expert, Michal Baranowski, told the Associated Press news agency that Poland gave Ukraine what it could early in the war. With no plans for incoming shipments soon, Baranowski doesn't see Ukraine's fighting capabilities threatened in the near future — but still, he considers Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's comments troubling for Kyiv as it seeks to shore up Western support in the war.

The message is very bad, both for Poland's reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role. ”

“ The message is very bad, both for Poland's reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role ”

“ The message is very bad, both for Poland’s reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role. ”

“ Video interview ”

“ Poland is still finding its way in leadership, and it’s about balance. Sometimes it’s worth it to ruffle some feathers, but the western view is that this can be done with a little bit better style ”

“ Warsaw is a very focused on its bilateral relationship with the U.S. – more so than ever before. ”

“ We heard rhetoric reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's, quite black and white, with Cold War overtones. However, it is no longer a question of a block against block confrontation, but of a fragmented world, requiring great diplomatic agility, which the Biden administration has taken on board.
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“ I think for Biden and his administration, Europe as a whole is the most important ally and NATO is the most important alliance. Even if the focus shifts east with the war, it doesn't diminish the role of Germany, France, Britain or Italy. ”

“ It is going to be a long war. If we don’t have the political leadership and if we don’t explain to our societies why this war is critical for their security, then Ukraine would be in trouble. ”

“ I do have to say that there is a concern, both in Poland and in Ukraine, about the staying power of the US beyond this administration. This war would look entirely different without the support of the US. ”

“ The last year has seen a tremendous change in the way Poland is viewed. In Europe, but especially in the transatlantic alliance. Western leaders and officials, however, now appear more focused on praising Polish leadership than calling the country out. ”

“ President Biden can speak to the Poles, the Ukrainians, but most importantly to the whole transatlantic community and to the American people. ”

“ Ukraine would not be able to fight it the way they are without the support of the U.S. and the rest of the West. ”

“ There is a pretty robust debate going on about security guarantees, but I really don’t think President Biden will want to put this forward now. Instead, the US administration is pushing ahead with “a porcupine strategy”, which means “arm Ukrainians to the teeth so that they can deal with Russia directly. ”

“ At the same time, Ukrainians are absolutely not ready to give up any of their territory, not that that would stop the war because Putin would just be encouraged by this. ”

“ Poland and Germany could become the new engine of the EU’s eastern policy. ”

“ The Zeitenwende is a process that has started but many people, myself included, think it hasn’t gone far enough ”

“ NATO, Polish government, and our allies performed pretty well in the following way: The cool heads prevailed. ”

“ This missile would not have hit and would not kill two Polish citizens if Russia was not waging the war in Ukraine ”

“ The question now is, how do we, with the Ukrainians, stop Russian air and missile attacks throughout Ukraine and if they spill over to NATO territory? ”

“ If Germany’s zeitenwende is successful, it could be the most consequential change in European security architecture and thinking in a few generations at least. ”

“ The Baltic states used to be considered indefensible in conventional terms. Now the defenses will be much clearer. Finland and Sweden will be right across the sea to bring military reinforcements. Deterrence around the Baltic Sea will certainly improve. ”

“ Meanwhile, Italy could provide a model for tackling oligarchs: the country has a long history battling the mafia, seizing illicit assets to combat organized criminals.... They created legal instruments that lead to seizures, which has happened with Russian yachts. But I have not seen any of them being sold and put into a fund. That is what would have to happen. ”

“ Bringing Sweden and Finland [into NATO] makes our alliances more secure and military confrontation with Russia less likely, even though it’s clear that Russia, of course, will not like this. ”

“ Russia is responding to military logic much more than political logic. ”

“ I think both the West—and Russia—overestimated Russia's military capabilities. From Putin's perspective, this war was supposed to have lasted only a few days. Now it's clear that Putin will not reach its main political objective of having Ukraine and Ukrainian people be part of Russia's sphere of influence. ”

“ It’s a war next door. And on top of that, it’s the Russians who are causing this suffering. In the end, these people are being killed by our enemies. ”

“ Poland will assume the role of the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War. ... From the US point of view, Poland had turned out to be a not entirely reliable partner by making the conflict public instead of resolving it behind closed doors. ”

“ We are still more likely than not to see Russia's escalation in Ukraine and certainly the continued destruction of Ukrainian civilian lives. That said, if Russia is indeed considered a defeated power in this war, it would very likely mean the end of Vladimir Putin—as president, at the very least. ”

“ When President Biden first talked about his vision of a confrontation between autocracy and democracy, for many people it sounded a little bit theoretical. But now we in Europe are experiencing a real front in that war, and that gives a very clear and understandable reality to this existential fight [Mr. Biden] has been talking about. ”

“ I don’t know if there is any other country to have received such a succession of the highest-ranking US officials. It shows how important Poland is as a kind of bridge to and from Ukraine. ”

“ The question that NATO and the US face is how quickly they can shift from a posture that previously relied largely on deterring Russia through political engagement to a more robust military approach. US forces are still key, because NATO allies in the east see them as far more of a deterrent to Moscow than troops from other European countries and because Russia itself would see any move against NATO as more risky. ”

“ The war is pretty much at a stalemate. Russia was hoping for a quick victory, basically a Blitzkrieg, a quick run to Kyiv with a hope to frankly decapitate the Ukrainian government in the first few days. They failed to do it and so the tactic and strategy has changed into a really grueling, grinding war. ”

“ The biggest question is not how much public support there is [for Belarusian involvement], but how much room for manoeuvre Lukashenko has versus Putin, and how much he’s entirely a puppet. If he is, that would be the scenario where we could see Belarusian forces as part of Russian military. ”

“ I'm very skeptical that the current round of talks will end Russia's war in Ukraine. This war has never been about Ukraine's NATO membership for Vladimir Putin. I'm concerned that from Russia's perspective the talks are meant to buy time for the Russian military to regroup. ”

“ If the Americans came across as pushy and twisting Poland’s arm, then the Poles came across as unpredictable to the Americans. This is a scratch on this very shiny new Polish-US relationship, but I don’t necessarily think that it is going to be a very long or persistent scratch. ”

“ Both here in Poland and in NATO headquarters, we take the possibility — perhaps intended or unintended — some level of escalation or spillover seriously. We think it unlikely, but so many unthinkable things have already happened. ”

“ Russian President Vladimir Putin has said right from the start that this is not only about Ukraine. He told us what he wants to do when he was listing his demands, which included the change of the government in Kyiv, but he was also talking about the eastern flank of NATO and the rest of Eastern Europe. ”

“ Vice President Harris in Warsaw will have a chance to address and smooth over this misunderstanding by clarifying that the US doesn't expect Poland to take an undue risk in organizing the MiG transfer alone. ”

“ Supplying Ukraine with MiG-29s will likely be seen by Russia as a significant step up in military help for Ukraine. No one NATO country should be put under pressure to do it alone. ”

“ In the event of a Ukrainian military defeat, there will certainly remain forms of guerrilla warfare in the country. Poland could then, according to researcher, serve as a rear base for these fighters. ”

“ Although Poland could create up to 40,000 additional temporary spaces in a matter of days, it is only effectively able to house 3,500 refugees. ”

“ [Europe should do more to assert itself, but not through] a parallel track of negotiations with Russia, but by creating additional defense capabilities, by being clear on sanctions, by being proactive. That’s what we need from Europe as a whole. ”

“ I'm in Kyiv and as these new talks in Geneva began, it was very clear from every politician, citizen and foreign policy expert here, that Ukranians are eager to find a solution. ”

“ Poland got what we finally wanted when we joined NATO, which is allied and American troop presence on our soil — to finally bring NATO deployments beyond Germany. ”

“ For Putin, the only thing that is important is the seat at the high table with the US and not with some pesky Europeans, as the Russians see us. And he's getting that. ”

“ You have zero guarantees that Russia would keep its promise of not escalating further...This is what major wars in Europe were made of, that kind of way of thinking. ”

“ It would be detrimental if Poland, Romania, and other eastern flank countries were excluded from the talks. The reaction would be very negative and it would send a clear signal to Russia that, look: if you need to talk about European security, don’t worry about what those pesky central Europeans are thinking, you just have to talk with the big powers. ”

“ For Lukashenko, the episode helped to distract some of the attention from the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus after he stole last year’s presidential election. ”

“ We all should be very worried, to be honest, I do share this assessment... This assessment is shared by many here in Warsaw and in Washington, D.C. We are seeing very significant buildup in threats on the border with Ukraine. So it’s really a key moment for the West to step up pressure against Putin. ”

“ The concern on the government side, and this is why they’re so firm, is that if there is even a process to let people in, this will create a narrative that this is a place where people from Iraq and Syria can be processed into Europe, and the numbers won’t be 4,000, as now, but 30,000. ”

“ Generally [Angela Merkel] was seen as someone who understood central and eastern Europe. I think she's leaving as Ms. Nord Stream 2, from the Polish perspective. ”