‘No further steps’ if Russia does not escalate tension: Polish FM
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
12.07.2016 11:06
Poland could seek a further bolstering of NATO’s eastern flank if tensions with Russia escalate, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said.
Witold Waszczykowski (right), pictured with PM Beata Szydło at a press conference after the NATO summit in Warsaw. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
“What happens next largely depends on the international situation,” Waszczykowski said in an interview with Poland’s Super Express tabloid.
If the situation does not deteriorate and Russia decides “that there is no need to escalate tension, we will not take further steps in the context of NATO to further strengthen the Alliance's eastern flank,” the paper quoted Waszczykowski as saying.
“If the situation becomes inflamed, we will demand an even bigger increase in the military presence.”
NATO country leaders meeting in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday decided to deploy four multinational, rotating battalions to Poland and three Baltic countries, which all fear potential Russian aggression after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The summit wrapped up on Saturday by approving an aid package for Ukraine, with NATO country leaders declaring they “do not – and will not – recognise Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea”. (pk)
Source: Super Express