Poland and Estonia discuss NATO consolidation
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
17.06.2014 12:10
The deputy foreign ministers of Poland and Estonia have held talks on security in the region and NATO's Baltic Air Policing programme, in Amari, Estonia.
Poland's deputy minister of foreign affairs Boguslaw Winid (L) with his Estonian counterpart Kyllike Sillaste-Elling (R). Photo: msz.gov.pl
“Estonian diplomatic efforts have led to the effective selection of air bases needed for the Baltic Air Policing mission,” commented Poland's deputy foreign minister Boguslaw Winid.
“This has created the possibility of ensuring a more visible NATO presence in the region.”
Besides Estonia's deputy minister of foreign affairs Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, the talks were also joined by the country's deputy defence minister Sven Sakkov.
The Baltic Air Policing programme is a Quick Reaction Alert system that protects the air space above Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
It was launched in 2004, with NATO member states taking turns it turns patrol the area.
Following the Crimean crisis in March, the US sent six supplementary fighter jets to a Lithuanian Air Force base near Siauliai.
President Barack Obama pledged to ask Congress to approve 1 billion dollars to consolidate the defence of Central and Eastern Europe, during his visit to Warsaw earlier this month.
President Bronislaw Komorowski announced that he would ask that Poland would raise its defence spending from 1.95 percent to 2 percent of the country's GDP. (nh)
Source: msz.gov.pl