Mariusz Błaszczak made the remark as he visited Polish soldiers and NATO troops taking part in the Griffin Shock exercise in the northern village of Bemowo Piskie on Friday morning, the interia.pl website reported.
The exercise marks the first time in NATO history that the head of the alliance’s Multinational Division North East assumed command of a US Army unit, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, told reporters: “We are tremendously uplifted by the interoperability, cooperation and reliability of allied forces. It’s a sign of our unity, the unity of the North-Atlantic alliance.”
‘A strong message to Russia’
He added: “It sends a strong message to Russia that it’s not worth it to attack NATO territory, that Polish forces, US forces and NATO forces work very closely together.”
The defence minister said he had talked with the commanders of the exercise, who praised soldiers for their “excellent grasp of procedures and of how to act” during the manoeuvres.
He said: “This cooperation, this interoperability between NATO forces is simply a fact.”
Błaszczak said that US-made Apache combat helicopters were taking part in the drills. He added that “very soon Polish pilots will begin training on the Apaches and the first machines from US Army stocks will be provided to the Polish Army.”
The defence minister told reporters he had agreed the transfer with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin during their talks at the Pentagon earlier this month.
The move is designed “to fill a gap in Poland’s arsenal" and strengthen NATO's eastern flank “before we sign a contract to buy 96 Apache helicopters for the Polish Army,” Błaszczak said.
Taking place from May 8 to 26, the Griffin Shock exercise features more than 3,000 service members from five NATO nations as well as several hundred vehicles, according to officials.
Friday is day 450 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, interia.pl, gov.pl
