Poland, Sweden tighten military cooperation due to Russia's actions in Ukraine, Baltic

15.09.201510:36

Poland and Sweden will tighten military cooperation, both countries’ Defence Ministers Tomasz Siemoniak and Peter Hultqvist announced after talks in Warsaw on Monday.

The ministers said their countries shared similar views regarding international security and informed that their ministries planned strategic cooperation, Polish Press Agency (PAP) reports.

“We both believe that the situation in the region has changed radically over the past two years. The aggression on Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea constitute new threats for our countries. The Baltic has turned from a sea of peace to a sea of threats, therefore our joint belief is that tightening our military cooperation is warranted and necessary”, Siemoniak said after the meeting with Hultqvist.

Hultqvist remarked that the Ukraine conflict had completely reset the balance of forces in this part of Europe, he also noted Russia’s raised activity in the Baltic area. In response, he said, Sweden has decided to raise its military budget by 11 percent over the coming five years.

Commenting the cooperation plans with Poland, Hultqvist said that both countries’ defence ministries decided to launch strategic cooperation involving, among others, joint exercises.