Poland's Mariusz Błaszczak and Croatia's Mario Banožić visited NATO soldiers stationed in Poland under the alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The Polish defence minister told reporters: “It’s very important that we are showing our solidarity, our unity within NATO. We are grateful that Croatian soldiers are stationed on Polish soil, that they train together with Polish, American, British and Romanian soldiers on a daily basis, building the interoperability of NATO forces."
Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, said this demonstrated that Croatia was “standing in solidarity with NATO’s eastern-flank allies.”
Support for Ukraine
Błaszczak said his talks with the Croatian defence minister focused on further support for Ukraine as it battles the Russian invasion.
He told reporters in the northern Polish village of Bemowo Piskie: “We agree that this process should continue. For the security of Europe and the free world, it’s important that the Russian empire is not revived.”
Meanwhile, Croatia’s Banožić declared: “From the very beginning of the Russian invasion, the Croatian government has been providing Ukraine with political, financial, medical and military assistance. We’ll continue to do so as long as necessary.”
Polish-Croatian ties, cooperation in NATO and EU
Błaszczak said the discussions had also focused on bilateral Polish-Croatian cooperation and Poland’s support for Western Balkan partners.
“We also discussed cooperation within NATO and the European Union," he added. "NATO will soon meet for a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. It’s a very important event from the standpoint of security."
The Croatian defence minister said: “I wish to congratulate my colleague Minister Błaszczak and the Polish people on what a huge role they assumed at such an important moment for the entire eastern flank of NATO. This shows our adaptability within NATO.”
‘NATO is stronger than ever’: Croatian defence minister
Banožić said joint activities bringing together soldiers from various NATO countries, such as joint exercises, were instrumental in developing military skills.
He said his wish was for the soldiers to accomplish their tasks “and for us to work well together within NATO, so that we can handle challenges that emerge all the time.”
“It’s about us showing that the NATO alliance is stronger than ever,” Banožić said.
Poland hosts one of the four NATO Battle Groups that make up the alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence on its eastern border. Led by the United States as a framework nation, the battlegroup also includes soldiers from Croatia, Britain and Romania, and is stationed in Bemowo Piskie.
Moreover, Poland’s northern city of Elbląg hosts NATO’s Multinational Division North East Headquarters, which coordinates the work of all four Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Groups.
Apart from Poland, these battle groups are also deployed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Monday is day 369 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, interia.pl