The talks in Legionowo near Warsaw by defence ministers from what is known as the Northern Group of European countries were chaired by Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The meeting was attended by the defence ministries of the Nordic countries, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and of the Netherlands, Germany and Britain, according to officials.
They discussed the security of NATO's eastern flank, military support for Ukraine and cybersecurity, in addition to preparations for NATO's summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11 and 12, officials said.
The gathering was an opportunity to "discuss threats posed by Russia's actions" and it also focused on joint efforts "to strengthen deterrence mechanisms and defence capabilities" in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine, according to the Polish defence ministry.
The British defence ministry said the Northern Group defence ministers discussed shared threats and security challenges as well as the group's "unwavering support for Ukraine and stability across the Euro-Atlantic" area.
Polish, Swedish talks on further military support for Ukraine, bilateral cooperation
On the sidelines of the Northern Group meeting, the Polish defence minister met bilaterally with his Sweden counterpart Pål Jonson for talks on further military support for Ukraine and on strengthening cooperation between their two countries, they told reporters.
Poland in talks with Sweden to buy early warning aircraft: defence minister
Poland's Błaszczak told the media after the meeting that his country was "well advanced" in talks to acquire early warning aircraft from Sweden.
"I wish to say for the first time publicly that we are advanced in talks to obtain early warning aircraft from Sweden," Błaszczak said, as quoted by the Polish defence ministry.
He added: "We are conducting detailed negotiations. I hope they will succeed in a short time."
The Northern Group brings together 12 northern European countries that are members of NATO or the European Union: Poland, Britain, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the Polish defence ministry said.
Monday was day 453 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP
