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Poland wants NATO to reinforce Suwałki Gap: PM

24.06.2022 19:00
The Polish prime minister said on Friday that Poland and the Baltic states wanted to see a stronger NATO defensive presence in the Suwałki Gap, a strategic stretch of land near Russia’s westernmost region of Kaliningrad.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz MorawieckiPhoto: PAP/Albert Zawada

"We are going to seek the reinforcement of this corridor ... in our talks with our partners from NATO," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference after a European Union summit in Brussels.

He was speaking after recent media reports that the Suwałki Gap could become a potential flashpoint if the war in Ukraine spilled into neighbouring countries.

The politico.eu website recently described the land corridor as “the most dangerous place on Earth.”

The Suwałki Gap is nestled between northeastern Poland and southern Lithuania. It is flanked on either side by Belarus and Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

Morawiecki told reporters before the EU summit that Poland and the Baltic state of Lithuania were "at the centre of diplomatic efforts to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO, but also the eastern flank of the EU.”

Earlier this week, Russia warned Lithuania of “serious consequences” after Vilnius banned the rail transit of some goods to the Kaliningrad region.

A Polish deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that Poland would call for a strengthening of the eastern flank and a new strategic NATO concept at the alliance’s summit in Madrid, Spain, next week.

Earlier this month, the Polish government said it would push for more NATO troops on the eastern flank, to be stationed in permanent bases.

Friday was day 121 of Russia's war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: PAP, TVP Info, Reuters