The agreement was signed in Warsaw on Tuesday by Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting.
It covers joint exercises and the development of military capabilities, and follows a bilateral security and defence treaty signed by the two countries’ prime ministers at Northolt in May, which is awaiting presidential consent for ratification in Poland.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the partnership between the two countries had never been stronger.
Support for Ukraine was the first topic of Tuesda's talks, followed by relations with the United States, he told reporters.
"There is no alternative to transatlantic cooperation," he said, adding that any other solution would be "simply worse."
He said that Poland and Britain both wanted a stronger alliance with Washington and more capable European forces.
Europe should be more independent, the Polish defence minister argued, but "not independent of the United States," only of "those who may threaten" the continent.
'State-sponsored terrorism'
Streeting praised Polish leadership and experience, saying that Britain would be more secure as a result of the new defence agreement with Poland designed to deter Russian threats.
He pointed to what some call Russian hybrid threats, which he described as "state-sponsored terrorism."
He also cited Poland’s daily mobilisation of air defences against drone incursions, and said Russian President Vladimir Putin was testing NATO’s resolve across the alliance.
'We have to be ready'
The agreement, Streeting said, sends the Kremlin a clear message that the alliance is united and ready to defend "every inch" of its territory.
But he said Putin’s assurances that he does not intend to provoke a conflict with NATO recalled what he had said about Ukraine days before the invasion.
"We have to be ready for a scenario in which the United Kingdom and the NATO alliance finds itself at war with Russia," Streetinge told reporters.
He went on: "Not because we want war – we have no quarrel with the Russian people, and we have no desire for war with Russia; NATO is a defensive alliance – but when Putin gives assurances that he has no intentions to provoke a war with NATO, we are reminded of what he said about Ukraine only days before the invasion."
Streeting said greater readiness brought deterrence.
"The more ready we are to face against Russia, to defend every inch of NATO territory, the less likely we are to find ourselves in that scenario," he said.
Next month, he added, British forces would join a major exercise in Poland under the Multinational Force for Ukraine, showing solidarity with Kyiv and commitment to Warsaw.
'Our most reliable friend in Europe'
The UK defence secretary called Poland one of Britain’s closest allies and said the new Warsaw Defence Plan set out how the two countries would continue to work together, "building a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO."
"Poland is one of our greatest and certainly our most reliable friend in Europe, and we value and treasure this friendship very much," Streeting said.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Warsaw would push for closer ties between the UK and the European Union.
Streeting became defence secretary in July, when Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.uk, theguardian.com