Poland and Lithuania to seek increased defence of NATO's eastern flank at Vilnius summit

On May 30, Mariusz Blaszczak, Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of National Defense, and Arvydas Anusauskas, Minister of Defense of Lithuania, met in Warsaw as part of the Fourth Polish-Lithuanian Council of Defense Ministers.

Arvydas Anusauskas said gaps in air defence in the Baltics and across the whole alliance had to be addressed.

"A firm response begins on the front lines in Ukraine. We stand united with this struggling nation. NATO should continue to strengthen its forward defense. Long-term deterrence against Russia and the response to aggression require an increase in combat capabilities on NATO's eastern flank. The strengthening of the armed forces by Poland is a model for other Allied countries to follow," the minister said.

"At the Vilnius summit, we'll strive for practical solutions to strengthen the defence of the eastern part of NATO, to ensure a reliable air and anti-missile defence in the Baltic States. Deficiencies in air defence capabilities are noticeable both in the Baltic states and in the entire alliance. For the first time in our history, NATO will provide full air defence during the Vilnius Summit," he added.

"It is very symbolic that the preparations for the NATO summit in Vilnius have brought us together here in Warsaw. Both Poland and Lithuania see Russia as a long-term threat to Western security and democratic values, to the stability of the international system based on mutual trust. As Moscow and Minsk are waving weapons, including nuclear, we understand that concessions cannot be made to the Kremlin regime," the chief of Lithuanian MOD stressed.

Anusauskas said Lithuania and Poland had agreed on increasing joint military exercises and were cooperating on purchasing weapons, naming GROM anti-aircraft systems among them.

"We agree to the intensification of bilateral military exercises, including those involving crossing the state border. We cooperate in the purchase of armaments, we are purchasing GROM anti-aircraft defence systems for more than 20 million euros."

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he was happy that Lithuania had decided to purchase Polish Grom anti-aircraft systems.

"Today we discussed, among other things, joint arms purchases. I am very pleased and thankful for the Lithuanian decision to purchase Groms, which will go to the equipment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. This is another transaction of this kind, which speaks very well of our relations."

"One of the topics of our talks was also cooperation in the cyber domain, primarily in the context of countering attacks," he added.

"We talked about cooperation of special forces. We also spoke of the support that both of our countries are providing to Ukraine. We are well aware of the threats. We are unanimous when it comes to opposing Putin's attempts to rebuild the Russian empire, the minister said.

"During the meeting, we discussed our bilateral cooperation and joint military exercises. We are obviously interested particularly in defense and deterrence in the northeastern part of Poland and ensuring security of the Suwałki Gap, which connects our countries. We are interested in cooperation in other formats as well," Błaszczak added.

"I thank greatly for this close Polish-Lithuanian partnership and for the minister's presence in Poland. Our consultations play an important role prior to the NATO summit that is to be held in Vilnius in July," the Polish minister stressed.

After the plenary talks, the defense ministers of Poland and Lithuania signed a joint position on the development of further military cooperation for security.

At the summit on July 11. and 12., leaders are set to approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail for the first time since the Cold War how the alliance would respond to a Russian attack.

By outlining what it calls its regional plans, NATO will also give nations guidance on how to upgrade their forces and logistics.

This formalises a process triggered by Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, which prompted Western allies for the first time to deploy combat troops to the east, with Britain, Canada and Germany each taking the lead in one of the Baltic states.

Other topics up for discussion at the summit will be increases to defence spending by allies as well as calls to grant Kyiv a road map to accession to the alliance.