Significant changes to Nato defence policy says president

Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has said that the Vilnius summit has resulted in a “significant” change in Nato security policy, with the alliance pivoting towards ensuring that no territory of a member state can be seized.

The president was speaking after a meeting of the National Security Council to brief participants on the outcome of this week's Nato summit in Lithuania, and discuss regional security.

The summit, dominated by the Ukraine war and the threat posed by Russia, resulted in changes to Nato strategic thinking. The alliance, after employing a policy of vague threats targeting no clear adversary for much of the post-Cold-War years, has now made the defence of its territory a clear strategic goal.

"For the first time since the Cold War, Nato defence plans, prepared for over a year, have been approved, according to which the philosophy of defending Nato territory has changed from the famous: 'deterrence by punishment' to 'deterrence by denial', to literal deterrence: deterrence that prevents the seizure of any territory of a Nato state," said Duda, adding that this was a "significant change."

As part of this policy, Nato must create "specific and predetermined military units in individual Nato countries" that could be transferred quickly to areas where security must be upheld, Duda continued.