Poland in NATO

Seven years ago, on 16 March 2014, in the presence of Russian occupational forces, illegal “referendum” was held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and the area was later unlawfully pronounced a part of the Russian Federation.

Thirty years ago, on 15 February 1991, the presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic, and the prime minister of Hungary signed the Declaration on Cooperation between the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Hungary in Striving for European Integration in the castle of Visegrad, Hungary.

Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defense and Lloyd Austin, the US secretary of defense confirmed the development of the intense military cooperation. On Thursday, February 11, during a telephone conversation, the head of the Pentagon assured that US defense cooperation with Poland would be maintained at a very high level. Warsaw and Washington will jointly strengthen and develop the deterrence and defense potential of Poland and the entire eastern flank of NATO.

On Friday, January 29, President Andrzej Duda held a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the current security challenges and the future of transatlantic relations.

"The painful truth about the Holocaust must not die. We should make every effort to educate the next generations about the past so that it doesn’t repeat itself. As we stand here, as NATO Allies, as nations and as humans, we all bear responsibility not to let it happen again. Never again." - said Ambassador Tomasz Szatkowski during a ceremony at NATO Headquarters commemorating the victims of the Holocaust.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its disappointment with regard to the Russian Federation MFA’s announcement on the beginning of domestic procedures for the withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies. The Treaty has remained a significant element of the European security architecture, contributing to building confidence and transparency with regard to military activity.

On 1-2 December 2020, Minister Zbigniew Rau took part in a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, held in the form of a video conference.

On 11 November 1918, 102 years ago, Poland regained its independence. On this day, after his release from the Magdeburg Fortress, Józef Piłsudski took over military command from the Regency Council and, three days later, assumed supreme authority over civilian matters, to finally “as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army [...] notify belligerent and neutral governments and nations” of the reappearance of “the reborn and independent Republic of Poland” on the map. After 123 years of captivity, Poland became a sovereign and internationally recognised state.

On November 11, on Poland’s Independence Day, representatives of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to NATO and the Polish Military Representation to the NATO and EU Military Committees laid wreaths at the graves of Polish soldiers killed during World War II, at cemeteries in Holsbeek and Leuven-Heverlee, as well as at a commemorative plaque in Geetbets.

Polish MFA appreciates the efforts of the Georgia’s authorities to organise the parliamentary elections on October 31st in a swift and efficient manner, based on a revised electoral system. The turnout achieved, especially within a framework of difficulties posed by the pandemic situation, is a success of the Georgian civil society.