"Anaconda" gathers strength

On June 7, the largest NATO maneuvers since 1989 began in Poland: 31,000 soldiers from 18 member countries of the Alliance and 5 partner states

After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the termination of the Warsaw Pact, the priority role of NATO, as a counterbalance to the threat from the USSR and its satellites, weakened. But this does not mean that it was completely leveled - it was necessary to decide on the new format and goals of the Alliance. And this process was not easy. However, the events that took place in Ukraine showed how important the existence of the NATO military bloc as such is. For many in Europe, it has become absolutely obvious: NATO is the guarantor of calm on the continent, the most important preventive deterrent for maintaining stability.

Yes, today's Anaconda 2016 maneuvers are a show of force, but not for the sake of provoking anyone. And the NATO countries certainly do not want a new arms race.

The Poles love the Russians, but are afraid of the Russian authorities. According to the citizens of my country, Putin is an unpredictable person who can pose a threat to the calm and the current way of life in Europe. The Poles perceive Putin as a president who wants to restore Russia's position by force at the expense of the interests (or even the very existence) of neighboring countries. Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine - what happened there was interpreted in Poland unequivocally - as aggression on the part of Russia. It does not help to believe in Putin's peacefulness and the fact that in the Russian foreign policy system of coordinates the NATO bloc appears as an enemy.

Meanwhile, no matter what the Kremlin says, NATO is a defensive alliance. But Russia's actions in this regard are questionable. On the day the Anaconda maneuvers began, a British frigate intercepted a Russian submarine in the North Sea. It is logical to assume that she was there: a) for purely intelligence purposes; b) for the purpose of collecting data and analyzing NATO defense systems. But in any case, such actions can be assessed as offensive rather than defensive.

The Poles perceive Putin as a president who wants to restore Russia's position by force at the expense of the interests, and even the very existence of neighboring countries

Today, Russia's domestic and foreign policy is based on nostalgia for the might of the former USSR. All Putin's threats, both indirect and direct, directed against Russia's neighbors, as well as NATO and EU member countries, have only one goal - to intimidate the people of these countries, to arouse their dissatisfaction with the policies of their own governments. On the other hand, Putin, of course, is aware that the Russian economy is weakening, and the conflict with NATO could end in a nuclear apocalypse. I don’t think that Putin would like such a scenario to be realized…

At the beginning of July, we will host another NATO summit in Warsaw, at which the search for answers to new challenges will continue both in the East and in the South of Europe. The NATO bloc aims to strengthen its capabilities, especially with regard to early warning.
avoidance of conflicts.

Now voices are being heard: they say, a new cold war has already begun. Someone thinks that we are still standing at its doorstep. In any case, the main thing now is to avoid a new arms race. In the context of growing mutual distrust, this is the biggest danger.