Poland has plans to link the ‘Eastern Shield’ defenses it is currently developing with a ‘Baltic Shield’ being built along the Russian and Belarusian borders, the deputy Polish defense minister said on Thursday.
During a meeting in Lithuania of defense officials from the so-called Northern Group of 12 north European countries, Cezary Tomczyk expressed interest in the Baltic states’ defensive line against their eastern and southern neighbors.
The Polish defense ministry tweeted that Tomczyk’s trip to Lithuania would include a visit to the country’s border with Russia.
"It's very interesting how Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia aim to build their defense line,” Tomczyk told a press conference. “Since Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has decided to build the (Eastern) Shield, we want to combine it with the Baltic Shield. So this is very important to us."
Earlier in May, Donald Tusk announced plans to spend 10 billion złoty (2.35 billion euro) on reinforcing Poland’s eastern border defenses as part of a program dubbed the ‘Eastern Shield’.
“We’re embarking on a major project to build a secure border, including a system of fortifications as well as resolving difficulties, agreed with environmental decisions, that will make this border impassable for a potential enemy,” Tusk was quoted on the chancellery’s website as saying. “We’ve already mobilized this 10 billion złoty. This work has already started. We’ll make the Polish border secure in peacetime and impassable for the enemy in wartime.”
The Northern Group is a forum made up of five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the three Baltic states —Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — along with Poland, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. The group is focused on security issues in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic region.
The Polish defense ministry tweeted that Tomczyk’s trip to Lithuania would include a visit to the country’s border with Russia.
"It's very interesting how Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia aim to build their defense line,” Tomczyk told a press conference. “Since Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has decided to build the (Eastern) Shield, we want to combine it with the Baltic Shield. So this is very important to us."
Earlier in May, Donald Tusk announced plans to spend 10 billion złoty (2.35 billion euro) on reinforcing Poland’s eastern border defenses as part of a program dubbed the ‘Eastern Shield’.
“We’re embarking on a major project to build a secure border, including a system of fortifications as well as resolving difficulties, agreed with environmental decisions, that will make this border impassable for a potential enemy,” Tusk was quoted on the chancellery’s website as saying. “We’ve already mobilized this 10 billion złoty. This work has already started. We’ll make the Polish border secure in peacetime and impassable for the enemy in wartime.”
The Northern Group is a forum made up of five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the three Baltic states —Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — along with Poland, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. The group is focused on security issues in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic region.
Source: Polish Radion, gov.pl, PAP
