MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. NATO is getting ready for a military conflict, Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with the Wirtualna Polska portal.

"In a certain sense - yes. NATO is a defense alliance but as the old saying goes: 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' The alliance should be so strong that no one would dream of attacking it," the Polish leader said, replying to a question as to whether NATO was preparing for war. He added that "the potential war between Russia and the West will be incredibly close" in the event Russia wins the armed conflict in Ukraine.

At the NATO summit in Washington D.C., in an interview with Politico, Duda suggested that the world had returned to the Cold War era and urged NATO partners to increase defense spending.

The NATO summit was held in Washington D.C. on July 9-11. Its final declaration noted that NATO still considers Russia the alliance’s main threat. That said, NATO countries plan on developing recommendations on strategic approaches to Russia. Additionally, the document urges not to provide any military aid to Russia in light of the Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, the summit reached an agreement to provide military aid to Ukraine to the tune of 40 bln euros in 2025.