According to The Daily Telegraph, he denied that
Russia, which attaches great importance to thwarting Nato`s
enlargement, had achieved a victory.
Ukraine and Georgia were
both promised Nato membership at a summit in Bucharest last April. But
no timetable was offered and, four months later, Russia raised the
stakes by invading Georgia.
Mr Sikorski said that Nato should "maintain the Bucharest consensus" and the "credible promise of membership".
Asked
whether the will to admit Ukraine and Georgia existed, however, he
replied: "Not at the moment. At the moment, there`s a will to encourage
them to reform themselves. But I believe all of our institutions, both
the EU and Nato, suffer from enlargement fatigue."
He added: "It`s always harder to enlarge in a recession."
Yet
the onset of "enlargement fatigue" did not amount to a victory for
Russia. "I don`t have the feeling that Russia has increased its
credibility in the last six months," he said. "The Soviet Union never
cut off gas supplies to Western Europe. Soviet strategists had a
wonderful expression called `correlation of forces` which meant all the
factors - material and immaterial - affecting any situation. I don`t
believe that either through the Georgia crisis or the gas dispute
Russia has improved the correlation of forces to its advantage."
Mr
Sikorski, 45, escaped from Communist Poland and was given asylum in
Britain in 1982. While studying at Pembroke College, Oxford, he was a
member of the Bullingdon drinking club along with David Cameron and
Boris Johnson. Mr Sikorski took British citizenship - and diplomats say
that he kept his British passport until he was made Poland`s foreign
minister in 2007.
During the 1980s, he was a foreign
correspondent, covering the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan for The
Sunday Telegraph. His firsthand experience of war in Afghanistan gives
him a unique qualification for taking the helm of Nato, which now
deploys 55,000 troops in the country.
The Alliance`s 26 members
will probably choose a new secretary-general at their 60th anniversary
summit in April. When Nato Ambassadors meet on Monday, they will begin
considering possible candidates, who include Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the
Danish prime minister.
As for whether he might be Nato`s next
secretary-general, Mr Sikorski replied: "I believe that Nato needs
continued leadership from the front. We have a war in Afghanistan that
we mustn`t lose. Nato is the most successful alliance in history and
that needs nurturing. I believe that the appointment should be made on
merit.
"I`m flattered by such suggestions because they imply
that Poland is now a regular member and that indeed we`ve made
worthwhile contributions to Nato and that therefore we deserve to be
seriously considered for the top job."
The Daily Telegraph
