The presentation of plans for Poland to create two more divisions was announced on Thursday by Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak at a press conference after the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels. He spoke out in favor of increasing the joint budget of the North Atlantic Alliance and developing its deterrent capabilities.
As he said, one of the main topics of the talks was “the relationship between the troops present in the region and those ready to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, for example”.
He told journalists that one of the sessions was about a joint NATO budget earmarked for projects jointly undertaken by allied countries. He pointed out that this budget is now lower than it was in the early 1990s, despite the fact that NATO today has more countries and “there is war on the border of NATO states”.
That is why I spoke on behalf of our country for an increase in the budget of the North Atlantic Alliance
– added.
†Creation of two more divisions”
He added that during the meeting he inquired about the Polish law on the defense of the homeland. He called it “the base on which we build a structure related to deterrence, to strengthening the Polish army.”
Reinforcing the Polish army serves to deter the aggressor, so that the aggressor – of course we are talking about Russia – does not dare to attack Poland or any other country of the North Atlantic Alliance
– added.
He noted that “other countries are also making every effort to increase deterrence capacity by increasing defense spending and activity.”
According to Błaszczak “there is a chance” that a decision will be made at the Madrid summit to expand the battalion battlegroups to the level of brigades.
Poland is not only active as a receiver, but also as a guarantor. We are strengthening our armed forces, we are establishing new military units, I will shortly present a plan based on the creation of two more divisions, which will be located in the eastern part of our country
– he announced. Since 2018, the formation of the 18th Mechanized Division with headquarters in Siedlce has been underway, it consists of existing and newly created units.
As Błaszczak said, his speech also related to military orders from Poland. He emphasized that he had high hopes for cooperation with South Korea.
We are in the final stages of negotiations with Świdnik on helicopters
– he added, referring to the announcement of the purchase of battlefield support helicopters in the Perkoz program, assuming the transfer of 32 multi-purpose helicopters in three versions to the army. These will be AW149 machines from the Italian Leonardo group, which owns PZL-Świdnik.
He stated he was ready to respond “positive” if Latvia and Romania, where Poland are part of NATO’s multinational battalions, were to ask for greater Polish involvement.
In a situation where we are developing the Polish army, we have more potential and we will certainly support our allies, because we expect their support
– He said.
†This is a false argument”
When asked about concerns that the transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine could be seen as a commitment to war and lead to conflict bypass and the use of nuclear weapons, the head of the Ministry of National Defense said:
This is a false argument. Passivity and the claim not to inconvenience the Kremlin rulers encourages them to move on. There is no doubt that if the North Atlantic Alliance is not strengthened, Russia will rebuild its empire.
Visit of the leaders of France and Germany to Kiev
When asked whether the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kiev could change the position of those countries accused of being overly cautious about supporting Ukraine, Błaszczak replied:
I’m not sure.
He added that the leaders of both countries have “held this line for a long time”.
It can be said that Germany built the military might of (the President of Russia) Vladimir Putin by depending on the supply of Russian energy resources. First Nord Stream, then Nord Stream 2, which I hope doesn’t get completed. But the Nord Stream gas pipeline has built the capabilities of the Russian military
– rated Błaszczak.
We hope that the talks in Kiev will lead to some sobriety from these countries. But the most important thing is that in Poland we count on ourselves first, that we remember that solidarity within the Alliance is important, so that we are active, and we are.
– He said. He added that strengthening the HR “is the policy of President Andrzej Duda and the PiS government.”
When asked if there were any talks about someone from Poland appearing among European leaders heading to Kiev on Thursday, Błaszczak replied: “This is not a question for me. It is important that President Andrzej Duda has already visited Kiev twice and spoke to the parliamentary assembly.” He recalled that the capital of Ukraine was visited twice by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, and that there was also a joint meeting was from the Polish and Ukrainian governments, adding that the expectations presented by the Russian side at the time were the subject of talks with the ministers of NATO countries in Brussels.
kpc / PAP
Source: wPolityce