Poland meeting obligations as NATO ally: president

Poland sets aside hefty funds for defence and is modernising its armed forces, President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as Poland marks 20 years since joining the Western defence alliance.

Duda noted that Polish troops served in NATO missions in various parts of the world.

He said: "Poland is increasing its presence in Afghanistan from 350 to 400 troops. We are carrying out the Air Policing mission over the Baltic states. Also, our soldiers are present in Latvia as part of the Enhanced Forward Presence effort, and they are present in Romania as part of [NATO’s] Tailored Forward Presence. This is one way how we keep commitments as an ally.”

Stoltenberg praised Poland for its contribution as an ally, including its role in foreign missions and defence spending.

He said: “I want to thank Poland especially for what you do when it comes to defence spending. You are leading by example. You allocate 2 percent of the GDP to defence, and this is important, not least because we see the GDP of Poland is growing, so you are allocating more and more money for defence every year.”

US Vice President Mike Pence said in Warsaw last month that Poland “is one of only eight NATO allies who currently meet the commitment to spend at least 2 percent of your gross domestic product on defence.”

Duda and NATO’s Stoltenberg also discussed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia and developments in the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and Syria when they met at Warsaw’s Belvedere Palace on Thursday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Poland will on Tuesday mark exactly 20 years since it became a member of NATO.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR