"Poland's relationship with the United Kingdom is a long and close marriage"

Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak met with Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace at a military base in Bemowo Piskie. He announced that the Royal Engineers would help Polish forces with the migrant crisis at the Belarus border, and that both countries have signed an agreement regarding cooperation in airspace protection development.

"Our border is and will be watertight, we will keep Poland safe. I'm grateful we can do it with the support from British soldiers," minister Błaszczak said.

"Britain declared its help through the involvement of engineering troops on the border with Belarus. Thank you for your quick response - the reconnaissance group was with us already on November 11," Błaszczak said.

"The document signed today is a very good sign of the - cooperation. I would like to thank the for its commitment, especially in face of the situation on the - border," Poland's Ministry of National Defence quoted minister Błaszczak on Twitter.

"I thank the UK's Defence Secretary for his personal involvement in strengthening relations in terms of security of Poland and the United Kingdom. I may say: together we are stronger," the minister said.

"You can have two types of relationships. You can have a one-night stand, or you can have a long and close marriage. After 200 years, Poland's relationship with the United Kingdom is a long and close marriage. And that's why it is the easiest thing for me, as a UK's defence minister to offer mutual support to Poland on the border with Belarus," said British defence secretary.

"Make no mistake what's happening on the Belarus is a deliberate and concerted attempt to destabilise not only Poland, but some of the other neighbouring countries like Latvia, et cetera, to make sure that Europe is weaker, in order to further other people's agendas," he added.

Wallace said that the best way to respond to this challenge is to "stand shoulder to shoulder, not only as NATO countries, but also old friends and partners, to send a strong message that we won't allow this to happen".

"Also we call upon Belarus to stop this appalling effort to use humans as a way of destabilise countries. Some of the most vulnerable people from across the world are being forced towards this border in a callous and cold calculation," the British minister said.

"Because we've had a close relationship over the time, our offer of industrial partnership is again not something where we will just sell and leave, but something where we will both contribute to growing Poland's technical base and providing jobs for Polish people to help deliver outstanding and world-beating capabilities to defend the airspace over Poland," he reassured.

"That's why we will share and transfer the technology together, and I hope we will build on this partnership to make sure that the industrial base delivers better security not only for Poland, but security widely across NATO," he stressed.

"I'm conscious of our soldiers standing on the parade square and I just want to say thank you very much for all they're doing. We've done a lot together, there's a lot more to do, and definitely Poland and the United Kingdom will stand side by side in all the challenges that come our way," Wallace concluded.