Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told reporters that the two neighbours stand together in efforts to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, enhance security in the Baltic Sea region and support Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion.
"We reaffirmed our willingness to continue supporting Ukraine in its courageous fight against Russian aggression and to remain engaged in its reconstruction," Sikorski said, speaking alongside his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.
He welcomed Germany's planned participation in an upcoming conference on Ukraine's reconstruction in the northern Polish city of Gdańsk.
Sikorski said Warsaw and Berlin agree that Russia poses the greatest threat to European security and that Western countries should maintain pressure on Moscow through sanctions while continuing to invest in defence capabilities.
Sikorski and Wadephul also discussed preparations for the next NATO summit, with Sikorski emphasising that both countries view the United States as an indispensable partner and support a strong US military presence in Europe.
Addressing historical issues, Sikorski said Poland hoped Germany would make a "humanitarian gesture" toward surviving Polish victims of World War II.
"These are elderly and often ill people," he said. "If we want to help them, we should do it quickly."
Sikorski also said he hoped border checks between Poland and Germany would eventually be lifted, arguing that Poland's eastern border is effectively protected against illegal crossings.
Wadephul described relations between Berlin and Warsaw as "close, lasting and reliable," according to Poland's PAP news agency, and said he was grateful that the two countries had chosen a common path in a free and united Europe.
He reiterated Germany's responsibility for the suffering inflicted on Poland and other European nations during World War II and noted that a competition to design a memorial to Polish victims of Nazi Germany in Berlin was underway, with a winning proposal expected by the end of the year.
Germany also retains a continuing responsibility toward survivors of Nazi persecution, he said.
Referring to migration, Wadephul said he expected the European Union's new asylum system would eventually make border controls unnecessary.
"That is what commuters, tourists and businesses expect from us," he said.
The German foreign minister also condemned a recent Russian attack on Kyiv's historic Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, saying it demonstrated that Moscow sought to wage war not only against people but also against the culture, history and identity of its neighbors.
"The Kremlin will be ready for negotiations only if we increase pressure on Russia together," he said.
The Polish-German Forum was held at Germany's foreign ministry to mark the anniversary of the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperation, signed by the two countries in 1991.
During the event, Germany returned several cultural artifacts looted during World War II, including the so-called Jagiellonian Ring and the oldest surviving manuscript containing the medieval Polish hymn Gaude Mater Polonia.
Separately on Wednesday, the Polish and German defence ministers signed a new military cooperation agreement in Warsaw covering areas including joint exercises and military mobility.
The agreement does not include mutual security guarantees beyond those already provided by NATO and the European Union, officials said.
Asked why Poland and Germany had signed a defence deal rather than a broader bilateral treaty, similar to those Warsaw recently concluded with France and Britain, both ministers said practical military cooperation was more important than the legal form of the arrangement.
Wadephul said Germany was "100-percent committed" to assisting Poland if necessary, adding that the commitment worked both ways.
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Source: IAR, PAP