NATO supports the inviolability of Ukraine's borders
17.02.2022
Today we talked about the support given to Ukraine, which is now threatened by aggressive Russian policy, but also about Georgia. I have presented everything that Poland consistently does to support these countries. We want to stop this development of the Russian sphere of influence, so that our neighbouring countries can decide for themselves which alliance they want to join. I emphasized that there is no consent for someone from the outside to decide for Ukraine what alliance it should and should not be in. This is one of the fundamental principles of sovereignty. We stand for the sovereignty of all states - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence after the meeting with NATO defence ministers at the Alliance Headquarters in Brussels.
On Thursday, February the 17th, chaired by Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, at the Alliance Headquarters in Brussels, the two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers, attended by Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, ended. The head of the Ministry of National Defence also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Germany, Estonia and Canada.
"The second session, attended by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of European Commission, Josef Borrell and the defence ministers of Sweden and Finland, concerned cooperation with the European Union, cooperation with EU countries that belong to EU, but do not belong to NATO. We emphasized the principles of cooperation, which is what Poland consistently says, so that the European Union does not compete with NATO when it comes to security, and that everything related to the EU's activity supplements the principles on which the North Atlantic Alliance is established. We were all agreed on this” - said the head of the Ministry of National Defence.
During the meeting of the North Atlantic Council with the participation of Ukraine and Georgia, defence ministers discussed the current situation in the eastern part of Europe.
“We talked about the interoperability of our troops, about the cooperation of our troops on the eastern flank of NATO. It was an important meeting, I think one of the most important in recent years, due to the threat posed to NATO's eastern flank. We can say that the North Atlantic Alliance is united, that all countries pay special attention about increasing resilience on NATO's eastern flank. Examples of the involvement of allied forces can be given here. From our point of view, the most important thing is the presence of American and British troops in our country. We can say that the North Atlantic Alliance guards the security of the states that create it and the security of the European Union " - emphasized the minister.
