Jacek Siewiera, who is a top national security advisor to Polish President Andrzej Duda, will hold discussions at the Élysée Palace as well as the French Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Siewiera, who heads the Polish president’s National Security Bureau (BBN), is set to talk with French officials about further support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, the NATO alliance's July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and European defence, according to officials.
During his two-day visit, Siewiera is also expected to raise topics such as defence cooperation, the training of Ukrainian soldiers as part of the European Union’s military assistance mission (EUMAM) and ammunition deliveries, the PAP news agency reported.
Expert roundtable
Siewiera will attend an “expert roundtable“ at the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) in the French capital on Wednesday, according to officials.
Co-organised by Poland's BBN, the event is set to explore the challenges posed for NATO and the European Union by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Participants will include experts from the Polish Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, the Polish embassy in Paris, as well as the government-affiliated think tanks the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) and the Polish Institute for International Affairs (PISM), reporters were told.
The role of eastern-flank NATO countries, alliance with US
During his talks in Paris, Siewiera is expected to send “a strong message” to the effect that today, “the future of Europe cannot be discussed without the countries on NATO's eastern flank,” while “the security of Europe cannot be discussed without maintaining strong ties with the United States,” private broadcaster RMF reported.
The Polish and French presidents last met at the Munich Security Conference in February, the PAP news agency reported.
Poland’s Duda and France’s Emmanuel Macron were at the time joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a three-way meeting "in the Weimar Triangle format," according to officials.
In January, Poland’s BBN agency hosted a delegation of French lawmakers from the parliamentary defence committee, officials said.
Wednesday is day 413 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, rmf24.pl