Mariusz Błaszczak made the statement in a media interview on Friday.
Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, told broadcaster Radio Poznań: “The strongest army in the world is the US Army, but indeed we can say that we’re going to have NATO’s second-strongest army. It’s a very realistic prospect and it will happen soon.”
He added: “We are consistently strengthening the Polish army, equipping it with modern weapons, which are produced according to NATO standards. They come from the United States, South Korea and the Polish arms industry.”
Polish-South Korean arms consortium
Błaszczak also said in the interview that Warsaw and Seoul had agreed to create a Polish-South Korean "consortium of arms makers," Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He added: “We are prepared to create sufficient production capacity to manufacture weapons for export markets.”
Błaszczak said fellow NATO defence ministers had told him “on many occasions” that their countries’ armed forces were “in dire need of new tanks.”
He told Radio Poznań: “I am convinced that we’ll beat the competition and the excellent K2PL tanks will go not only to the Polish army, but also many fellow NATO armies.”
He said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had forced Poland to speed up the replacement of Soviet-era weaponry with “NATO-standard” equipment, the PAP news agency reported.
‘We can't depend on other countries to defend us’
Błaszczak argued: "We can't depend on other countries to defend us ... NATO may be the strongest alliance in history, but nobody will look after the security of our homeland for us.”
He added: “We receive support from our allies and we also support them. Poland is not only a recipient, but also a provider of security. But this alliance was built on the principle that every member country looks after its security.”
He told Radio Poznań: “Poland is a large country … We are a strong country, with considerable potential, and our international position improves as the Polish army becomes stronger."
Błaszczak declared: "Poland aims to build the strongest army in Europe."
Friday is day 373 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, wpolityce.pl