Burak Bir and Murat Temizer
22 May 2023•Update: 22 May 2023
LONDON / WARSAW
A dozen European countries on Monday met in Poland to discuss key threats and challenges to European security
Top officials from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the UK met in Legionowo, near the capital Warsaw, as part of the Northern Group Ministers meeting.
During the meeting, hosted by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, the partners agreed that Russia constitutes "a direct threat to the security, stability and the prosperity of the Euro-Atlantic area."
Speaking to reporters following the talks, Blaszczak said that upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital on July 11-12 was also discussed.
He added that they have good prospects to strengthen Poland and the entire NATO alliance.
On the importance of Baltic security, the defense minister said publicly for the first time that Poland has made great progress in obtaining an early warning aircraft from Sweden.
A statement by UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Defence partnerships like the Northern Group are vital to tackle shared threats. As likeminded nations we are determined to continue our support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, for as long as it takes.”
