Poland’s defence minister on Wednesday urged the right-wing opposition not to undermine the country’s relations with Germany, arguing that close cooperation with allies was essential to national security as Warsaw confronts growing threats from Moscow.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks in parliament on Wednesday.PAP/Paweł Supernak
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz made the remarks during a heated debate in parliament over the detention in Berlin of members of a Polish nationalist group who had sought to place a cross near a temporary memorial commemorating Polish victims of World War II.
Lawmakers from the conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party accused German authorities of mistreating Polish activists, including nationalist campaigner Robert Bąkiewicz, and called on the government to demand explanations from Berlin.
Przemysław Czarnek, a senior PiS lawmaker and a potential future prime ministerial candidate for the party, described the incident as unprecedented and urged the Polish government to summon Germany’s ambassador and seek accountability from those involved.
Kosiniak-Kamysz rejected the opposition’s criticism, accusing Bąkiewicz of staging „provocations” that harm Poland’s national interests.
„There will never be consent on our part to provocations whose sole purpose is to destroy relations between Poland and its allies,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told lawmakers.
He also criticised what he described as the use of religious symbols for political purposes, saying that „using the cross as a battering ram for political missions is simply unworthy.”
Kosiniak-Kamysz told parliament that Bąkiewicz’s actions serve Russia’s interests by fuelling divisions within Poland and weakening European unity and NATO.
„Provocations by Mr. Bąkiewicz, both in Poland and abroad, serve the Russian Federation,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
He warned that Poland’s security depends on maintaining strong ties with NATO allies and European partners, including neighbouring Germany.
Kosiniak-Kamysz spoke ahead of the signing of a new Polish-German defence cooperation agreement.
The accord is intended to update the framework for bilateral military cooperation and covers areas including joint exercises, military mobility and operational coordination, according to officials.
The signing coincides with the 35th anniversary of the 1991 Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperation, which laid the foundation for modern Polish-German relations after the Cold War.
The Polish defence ministry said the new agreement would reflect new security challenges in Central and Eastern Europe and complement cooperation mechanisms within NATO and the European Union, replacing a previous bilateral defence cooperation framework signed in 2011.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the government would continue pursuing a partnership-based relationship with Germany while seeking historical truth and redress for wartime crimes.
„Building a secure future requires cooperation with our allies, our neighbours in the European Union and our partners in NATO,” he said.
„Do not go down the path of destroying Poland’s relations with its allies,” he told the opposition.
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Source: IAR, PAP
Radio Poland