Poland’s president, defence minister discuss army reforms

President Andrzej Duda, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and top military brass also talked about an increased presence of NATO troops and further modernisation of Poland’s armed forces when they met for their annual briefing in Warsaw on Thursday.

Duda, who is commander-in-chief of Poland’s armed forces, said he enjoyed smooth cooperation with the defence ministry led by Błaszczak. He also said that guidelines for a new national security strategy would be worked out in the near future.

Russia 'unpredictable'

Duda said that the Polish military command system would undergo modifications because of the "unpredictability of Russian policy.”

Russia, which neighbours Poland to the north-east, has “demonstrated that it is ready to resort to using military force in order to achieve its goals," Duda said.

He added that work to develop NATO's deterrence capabilities and defending the alliance’s eastern flank would remain the top priorities of Poland’s security policy, in addition to efforts to strengthen the country’s “strategic partnership” with the United States.

Błaszczak for his part said that Poland would sign a deal with the United States for the supply of Patriot missile defence systems by the end of this month.

As part of the planned reform of Poland’s military command system, some of the army units stationed in the west of the country will be moved to its eastern regions, Błaszczak said.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP