By Barbara Erling
WARSAW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. remains Poland's most important partner in military cooperation and Warsaw has been and will remain a loyal ally, but it can't be a "sucker", Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech to parliament on Thursday.
His comments reflect the delicate balancing act that Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-EU government must perform in maintaining the strong transatlantic bond they see as crucial for national security at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is upending old certainties about European security.
* "We look at the changes in the U.S. with understanding,but also concern," Sikorski told lawmakers. "We have been andwill continue to be a loyal ally of America. But we cannot besuckers." * Sikorski called for Europe to assume more responsibilityfor its security and underlined the role of European unity. * "The threat to the sovereignty and security of theRepublic of Poland comes from one direction – from the East, notthe West... The hour has struck for Europe. Either we standunited, or we will be consumed by greater powers." * Defending NATO's eastern flank against a possible Russianaggression would cost at least 1.2 trillion euros ($1.4trillion), 24 times more than Poland's defence budget, Sikorskisaid, suggesting that current financial and military aidprovided to Ukraine was far less than the likely cost of anypotential war between Russia and the Atlantic alliance. * While all sides of Poland's political spectrum regard theU.S. as the most important guarantor of Polish security, membersof Tusk's government have been critical of Trump, in contrastwith the much more pro-MAGA nationalist opposition and PresidentKarol Nawrocki.
($1 = 0.8467 euros)
(Reporting by Barbara Erling and Pawel Florkiewicz; writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Gareth Jones)
