Paweł Jabłoński made the statement in a media interview on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Asked by public broadcaster Polish Radio’s about Poland’s expectations regarding NATO’s two-day summit in Vilnius, which begins on Tuesday, the deputy foreign minister replied: “First and foremost, Poland expects NATO to firmly strengthen its presence in the part of Europe that is most vulnerable to aggression, namely the so-called eastern flank.”
‘NATO’s eastern flank must be more strongly protected’
Jabłoński noted that the Central European states that had joined NATO in 1999, including Poland, had become “frontline countries” after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He told Polish Radio: “Russian aggression isn’t taking place on our territory, but it’s happening just beyond our border, so we are potentially under threat, all the more so because Russia is not hiding its hostile intentions.
The deputy foreign minister added: “If we as Europe are to be safe, then the part of Europe that is most exposed to this attack, must be protected in a much stronger fashion, including through a permanent presence of allied troops.”
Support for Ukraine
Jabłoński also stressed that NATO “must reaffirm further support for Ukraine” and its defence against Russian aggression.
NATO’s Vilnius summit
At the Vilnius summit, NATO allies are expected to “take major steps to strengthen deterrence and defence, with the adoption of three new regional defence plans to counter the two main threats to NATO: Russia and terrorism,” the PAP news agency reported.
“The plans will be supported by 300,000 troops on higher readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power,” NATO said.
The western alliance’s members are also expected to endorse a Defence Production Action Plan to “aggregate demand, boost capacity, and increase interoperability” and a more ambitious defence investment pledge to invest a minimum of 2% of GDP annually on defence, the PAP news agency reported.
The leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, as well as the European Union, will also take part in the Vilnius summit, NATO announced.
It will also be the first summit as a NATO ally for Finland, which formally joined the alliance in April, according to officials.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 502 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, jedynka.polskieradio.pl, Kyiv Post, NATO