The new bilateral “2030 Strategic Partnership” agreement was signed by Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak with the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in London on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The four ministers approved the strategic document during a meeting at Lancaster House in the British capital, according to officials.
The meeting was part of Wednesday’s Quadriga consultations between Poland and Britain, the PAP news agency reported.
Key topics included “military cooperation, the situation in Russia and Belarus, as well as issues on the current international agenda,” officials said.
'Together we are stronger'
Poland’s top diplomat said afterwards: “We are satisfied that this year’s meeting has resulted in the signing of a joint declaration on Strategic Partnership until 2030. While the document mainly emphasises issues related to defence and security, it is worth mentioning that our partnership is much more extensive. We also agreed to further strengthen cooperation in such fields as the neighbourhood of the European Union, the Indo-Pacific region and the response to global challenges.”
The Polish foreign minister added that, during their Quadriga talks, the two countries" reaffirmed their willingness to work together to assist Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion," and reiterated "Britain’s long-term military commitment on NATO’s eastern flank," the PAP news agency reported.
“Together we are stronger, standing up against Russia’s crimes,” Rau told reporters.
'Russia is predictable in its unpredictability'
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that “Poland’s cooperation with Britain strengthens the security of the entire transatlantic Alliance, as both countries share the same views on threats and seek the best measures to deter the aggressor.”
Błaszczak warned that “Russia is predictable in its unpredictability” and told reporters that “Britain is also in danger” from the Kremlin’s aggressive policy.
The Polish defence minister added that he “greatly appreciated” the presence of UK troops in Poland, "both in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to help strengthen the Polish-Belarusian border amid a hybrid threat from Belarus," the PAP news agency reported.
“It’s important that we can count on our British partners,” Błaszczak stated.
Poland, UK 'at forefront of int'l support for Ukraine'
Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “Just as the UK and Poland fought together to preserve freedom in Europe during World War II, so today the UK and Poland are standing together once more, at the forefront of international support for Ukraine.”
He added: “Our 2030 Partnership commits the UK and Poland to even greater defence, security and foreign policy cooperation into the future.”
Cleverly noted that Poland and Britain shared thriving bilateral trade, at over GBP 27 billion a year, the PAP news agency reported.
'Historic defence partners and NATO allies'
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “As historic defence partners and NATO Allies, the UK stands with Poland to defend NATO’s eastern flank and support Ukraine against Russian aggression.”
He added: “The 2030 Strategic Partnership strengthens our commitment to develop closer military deployments and exercises and deliver on immediate and long-term capability projects.”
Wallace told reporters that Poland would soon have “the biggest army in Europe” and hailed Warsaw’s “very brave” and “very strong” support for Kyiv.
'Ukraine’s future is in NATO': UK FM
The Polish and UK ministers also spoke to reporters about their countries’ support for Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
Britain's Cleverly said that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” while Rau said Poland and Britain expected this to be confirmed at the Vilnius summit next week.
Poland’s top diplomat added: “Ukraine is paying an extremely high price for proving that it is part of the Western security architecture. Ukraine is fighting also for the freedom and security of current NATO members.”
The Polish-British Quadriga meeting included a joint discussion by the four ministers and one-on-one talks.
The two countries’ previous Quadriga consultations took place in 2018 in Helenów near Warsaw.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 497 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, gov.uk