Poland’s Mariusz Błaszczak hosted Romania’s Angel Tilvar on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The two ministers visited a multinational NATO battlegroup stationed in the northern Polish village of Bemowo Piskie.
Part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, Battlegroup Poland comprises units from Romania, Croatia, Britain and the US.
Their mission is “to contribute to and strengthen the NATO Alliance’s deterrence and defensive posture in Poland,” NATO officials said.
‘Supporting Ukraine is important for the independence of Poland and Romania’
Błaszczak, who is also Poland’s deputy prime minister, told reporters in Bemowo Piskie: “Poland and Romania work together in NATO, the Bucharest Nine and the European Union. We have a lot in common. We have very similar views on threats and appropriate responses to them.”
Błaszczak added that both Warsaw and Bucharest spent more than 2 percent of their GDP on defence.
Poland’s deputy PM stated: “We also talked about supporting Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor. This is significant for the independence of both our countries.”
He stressed: “Our military and political cooperation is a guarantee of our shared security.”
‘Together we are stronger’
“Together we are stronger,” Błaszczak said, adding that he and Tilvar would meet next week at a get-together of the “Ramstein” contact group of western defence ministers.
The group is chaired by the US and coordinates military assistance to Ukraine.
The Polish defence minister also thanked his Romanian counterpart “for the presence of Romanian troops in NATO’s Battlegroup Poland.”
Meanwhile, Romania's Tilvar hailed “very good bilateral relations” between Poland and Romania and the two countries’ cooperation within NATO and the European Union.
Romania’s defence minister also stressed: “It’s important that Europe maintains cohesion and stands united in the face of Russia.”
Tuesday was day 321 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, tvp.info, wpolityce.pl