Logo Polskiego Radia

New NATO command structure boosts Poland's security: defence minister

PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki 08.06.2018 11:40
Newly approved changes to NATO’s command structure mean greater security for Poland, the country’s defence minister has said.
Poland's Mariusz Błaszczak (right) during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. Photo: EPA/OLIVIER HOSLETPoland's Mariusz Błaszczak (right) during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. Photo: EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Mariusz Błaszczak was speaking after NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels approved a new command structure for the Western military alliance on Thursday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the changes aimed to “boost defence and deterrence against threats from any direction” and “ensure we have the right forces in the right places at the right time."

The NATO chief told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday evening that the ministers “agreed to strengthen the new command structure by more than 1,200 personnel” and that they “also agreed that our new Joint Force Command for the Atlantic will be based at Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. And that a new Enabling Command will be based in Ulm in Germany.”

Stoltenberg added that "these headquarters will be essential for Alliance reinforcements across the Atlantic and across Europe."

The defence ministries gathered in the Belgian capital also decided to enhance the combat readiness of NATO troops in member countries, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Poland’s Błaszczak told journalists in Brussels on Thursday that all these changes were beneficial for Poland and made the country more secure.

"We are interested in seeing a situation where, in the event of a crisis, a state of danger, we will know that a potential attack will be met with a swift and decisive response from the Atlantic Alliance,” he said.

The decisions made by the NATO defence ministers in Brussels will formally take effect after they are approved by NATO leaders during their upcoming summit in Brussels in mid-July, the IAR news agency reported.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us