The support of Ukraine, the organisation of Polish-French-German exercises, expanding the mobility of troops, and the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border – these are the most crucial topics discussed by the defence ministers of the Weimar Triangle. The gathering of allies, the first in almost 10 years in specified a formula, took place in Paris.
– The Weimar Triangle was brought back to life after 10 years. This historical event, we compose a fresh part of the story," said Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish on Monday. In Paris, the head of the Polish Defence Ministry met with the defence ministers of France and Germany: Sébastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius.
Conversations in the Weimar Triangle format were dominated by issues related to the support of the fighting Ukraine. "The Western Aspirations of Ukraine are as natural as possible and we support it in its efforts to join NATO and the European Union. For this to be possible, Ukraine must succeed. We will support it by transferring equipment and expanding NATO's function in coordinating these activities," said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish. The Minister noted that training of Ukrainian soldiers is besides very important. Like he said, Poland has already trained 20,000 Ukrainians in both European projects and bilateral cooperation and intends to proceed this process. akin declarations have been made by France, which is about to prepare 1 of the Ukrainian brigades for action. Boris Pistorius, on the another hand, recalled that Poland, Germany and France belong to all coalitions that were appointed to support Ukraine.
During today’s talks, a decision was made about military mobility. At the beginning of the year Poland, the Netherlands and Germany signed an agreement facilitating the movement of allied subdivisions across the territories of individual countries. This solution is helpful for both logistical and administrative reasons, and its effectiveness has been checked, among others, by the Netherlands' armed forces, which have late moved their subdivisions through the territories of Germany and Poland to scope the finals Grand Quadriga exercises in Lithuania. It is so no wonder that more countries are joining this initiative. Today, France has decided to take this step. As Sébastien Lecornu said, about how much specified cooperation is needed, the French found out by moving the Leclerc tank to Romania. “We have had quite a few difficulties,” said the head of the French MON. "There is no effective defence present without mobility. We can't halt by bureaucracy, we can't stay in a corset that prevents us from acting – said Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamish. “If necessary, we will ally support each other. I confirm all the obligations arising from the North Atlantic Treaty and our presence in the European Union. To accomplish this, 1 must have the ability to decision quickly, this is what the war in Ukraine taught us – emphasized the Polish Minister of Defence.
The allies besides decided to organize joint military exercises. As announced next year, soldiers from Poland, Germany and France will cooperate in the territory of the Republic. It is not yet known what the script for these actions would be, but it has already been declared that the French-German brigade is likely to participate in the exercises. Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that he thought it would be a large-scale exercise.
Ministers besides spoke on preparations for the NATO Summit, which will be held in Washington in July. Politicians agreed that then not only should the issue of expanding the Alliance's commitment to support Ukraine be addressed, but besides the fulfilment of regional plans and resources spent by allies on defence. "The transfer of 2% of GDP to this mark is indisputable. This commitment must be carried out by all countries, not by more than 20 at present," said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. On the another hand, the head of the French MON stressed that the acquisition of arms by individual armies is very important, but it is not possible to let the equipment to stand in hangars. He explained that it was very crucial to build interoperability and that this should be addressed in July. – Military equipment of individual states should work together, but experience from Ukraine shows that this is not always the case. Interoperability is crucial," he said. Boris Pistorius added that deterrents should besides be developed. "The NATO Summit is an crucial event, not just due to the fact that it will be a Jubilee. We gotta show that NATO is strong, that allies stand side by side," he said.
Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz besides informed allies about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. present we are facing a immense problem. This is not a migration problem, due to the fact that present there are no migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border, there are people attacking Polish soldiers, police officers and border guards. They're trained for it," he said. "This is simply a hybrid, organized action against Western civilization," he noted. Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the Polish-Belarusian border is besides the east border of NATO and the European Union, so he asked his allies for support, but not of a military nature. I made it clear that this is about the Border defender and the Police. It would be very good if work for the safety of the border, as far as possible, was taken by our allies from the European Union and NATO," he said in an interview with “Polish Armed Forces”.
The Weimar Triangle is simply a consultation forum established in 1991 for representatives of Poland, France and Germany. First the meetings were attended by abroad ministers of these countries, but in subsequent years the expression was extended to include presidents and defence ministers. The aim of the Weimar Triangle initiative is to strengthen cooperation between associate States in areas related to social, cultural and safety policy and the European Union.
This year the gathering of the Weimar Triangle associate States took place respective times, including abroad ministers and Heads of Government. However, the Monday gathering was the first in almost 10 years, during which the defence ministers of Poland, France and Germany met.
