Geopolitics
Polish Defence Minister in Germany. Talks About Reinforcement of the NATO Eastern Flank
Elektrownia słoneczna w Noor Ouarzazate w Maroko. Zdjęcie z satelity należącego do konstelacji Plejades, Fot. Airbus Defence & Space
Antoni Macierewicz, Minister of Defence of Poland, met his German counterpart, Ursula von der Leyen. This was the first meeting involving both politicians. The talks covered the issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including joint military exercises and the area of the preparatory activities undertaken in the light of the NATO Summit in Warsaw.
During the press conference taking place after the meeting, Antoni Macierewicz said, that the meeting covered the issues that were important for Poland, particularly the issues that are to be discussed during the NATO summit in Warsaw. According to the Polish Defence Minister, reinforcement of the NATO presence at the Eastern Flank of the organization, constitutes the most important issue for Poland.
(...) We have also been talking about forward presence of the NATO forces and about the need of reinforcing the NATO presence at the Eastern flank. We have agreed that the talks are going to be continued, so that we are able to reach a shared stance, important not only for Poland, but also for Germany.
Macierewicz added that he is also planning to meet his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, thus, within the context of the upcoming NATO Summit, it cannot be ruled out that a joint stance is going to be presented by a larger group of member states; similar thing happened also in case of the United Kingdom.
Macierewicz also added that Poland appreciates and follows the steps that have been outlined and decided upon during the Wales summit. These steps were also a topic which was covered in the thorough talks with the German Defence Minister. Polish Minister of Defence stated that the issue related to reinforced NATO presence at the Eastern flank of the alliance stands a chance of being positively considered during the Warsaw summit.
Macierewicz also announced that during the talks with Ursula von der Leyen, Poland emphasized the threat posed by the Russian aggression in the Ukraine, and the Russian aggressive narrative, undermining the European security, especially that of the Baltic republics. Polish Minister of Defence noted that within that scope, related to scale of the threat and the related challenges, both Parties share the opinion, referring to the above area and defining it as the biggest challenge for peace in Europe at the moment.
German Minister, in her statement for the media, mentioned the upcoming summit, placing a particular stress on the fact that Poland and Germany are going to be in tight cooperation, within the process of preparing the Warsaw meeting. As she stressed, the collaboration is going to be visible also among the states of the Weimar Triangle.
This summit is going to show that NATO, in a changed security situation, needs to act in a quicker, more flexible manner. This is going to be discussed also within the Weimar Triangle framework. In order to do that, numerous initiatives will be undertaken. (...) Our goal is to make that summit a strong sign of coherence and unity of the NATO alliance.
Von der Leyen also noted that both parties are going to transfer the command jurisdiction related to the armoured unit. This is an expression of deep trust of the states that 70 years ago were enemies towards one another, and now they share their armoured units. The German Minister stated that this is a “strong signal for peace and reliability”.
Read More: Polish Leopards Commanded By The Germans. German Grenadiers Commanded By The Poles.