Poland says potential US NATO withdrawal must be taken ‘seriously’

BRUSSELS

Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Thursday warned that the possibility of the US withdrawing from NATO should be treated as a serious scenario, urging allies to prepare alternative security arrangements.

"We should treat this [the US withdrawal from NATO] as a possible scenario and take it seriously - us in Poland, especially on the eastern flank, and all of us, across the political spectrum," he said in a post on US social media company X.

He noted that when he previously called for maintaining two “insurance policies” in a foreign policy address to parliament, the idea drew surprise, but recent developments have reinforced the need to consider alternatives.

"Of course, NATO is the cornerstone of our security. Of course, we want to be a good, loyal ally of the United States, but we cannot pretend that the U.S. President isn’t saying what he is saying," the minister added.

Sikorski’s remarks followed renewed criticism of NATO by US President Donald Trump over the alliance’s response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Trump has previously labeled alliance members “cowards” and, in an interview with The Telegraph, described NATO as a “paper tiger,” adding that leaving the alliance was “beyond reconsideration.”

A unilateral US withdrawal from NATO would face legal constraints, as a 2023 law requires approval from a two-thirds majority in the US Senate before any such move can proceed.