Marcin Przydacz made the announcement in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He described Russian leader Vladimir Putin as “a war criminal,” warning that “Putin may include Poland in his expansionist plans.”
Przydacz told El Mundo that Russia "is seeking to disrupt Western supplies of weapons to fighting Ukraine, by bombarding roads and railway lines on the Ukrainian side, and even attempting acts of sabotage,” according to the PAP news agency.
Casus belli
“But if it attacked on the Polish side, that would be a casus belli - an act seen as justifying a war,” Przydacz was quoted as saying in the interview, which was published on Sunday.
He said that Poland had "NATO troops on its frontiers," with around 10,000 American soldiers stationed in the country.
“They help us guard the borders and manage the mass flows of people fleeing the conflict” in Ukraine Przydacz added.
‘Russia is a big threat to Europe’
The Polish deputy foreign minister told El Mundo that during next month’s NATO summit in Madrid, Poland would ask the Western alliance “to position more troops on the Russia border, in permanent bases.”
Przydacz said: “Russia is a big threat to Europe, and NATO must be aware of this, so that we can defend each other against this aggressive approach."
Madrid summit
Przydacz is involved in preparations for the Madrid summit, which will take place between June 28-30, El Mundo reported.
The summit is set to feature heads of state and government from the 30 member states of the NATO alliance, in addition to leaders from Finland, Sweden, Georgia, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan; and representatives from the Council of Europe and the European Commission, the PAP news agency reported.
Monday is day 82 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, bankier.pl, elmundo.es