“Any downgrading of the NATO aid guarantee is irresponsible and dangerous and solely for the benefit of Russia,” he said Chancellor Olaf Solz, commenting on former US President Donald Trump’s threat to “encourage” Russia to attack NATO countries that are not investing enough in their defense. For a “cold shower”, said o Polish Prime Minister Donald Tuskreferring to the Republican presidential front-runner’s words.

“Poland’s security is also our security. The responsibility before History has no end point,” Olaf Solz said after meeting Mr Tusk, who visited Berlin immediately after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris yesterday. Poland’s newly elected prime minister stressed that his country currently spends around 4% of its GDP on defence, while the German chancellor assured that Germany would stick to the 2% target “this year and beyond”. The two leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and called for increased aid from the Europeans and closer cooperation in the production of munitions. The European economy is eight times larger than the Russian one, Donald Tusk emphasized.

Alongside the meetings of the leaders of Germany, France and Poland, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the so-called “Weimar Triangle” took place near Paris, in an effort to take joint action against Russian disinformation and cyber-attacks. “Russia is trying to destroy European unity,” Stéphane Cezournet said, referring to the revelation of nearly 200 fake news websites. “We are ready to act to defend our democracy,” he added. “We are meeting at a dramatic moment, because we have war again in Europe, we have again a dictator who has given himself the right to decide which people are allowed to exist and which are not. The Russian president is trying to use lies and demagoguery to subjugate Ukraine and destroy the European Union and NATO. We cannot allow him to win the war,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said and called for partners and allies to fulfill their obligations to Ukraine. “Stand by Ukraine. If Putin thinks that our power is waning and our support is shrinking, he is sorely mistaken. The Europeans have stood by Ukraine for two years and will continue to do so for as long as necessary,” German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock said for her part and reiterated that “European support will continue as long as necessary.” The question of how that support will become even more effective depends on how closely Germany, France and Poland act together militarily in the coming months – and years to come, Ms Burbock added.

The “Weimar Triangle” between Germany, France and Poland was created in 1991 in Weimar as a format for talks between the foreign ministers of the three countries. One of the objectives of yesterday’s meeting in France was to strengthen the foreign policy cooperation of Germany and France with the new, pro-European government of Poland under Donald Tusk.