Polish FM: NATO summit will increase Poland's security

Waszczykowski told Polish journalists following the Washington talks that “our concerns for Europe's security have met with a US response.”

He added that “the NATO summit due to be held in Warsaw in July will have a pleasant surprise for you, as the security of Poland and the entire [eastern] flank will be increased.”

Both the current Law and Justice government and its predecessor, led by Civic Platform, having been pushing for a greater NATO presence in the region since the Russian-Ukrainian crisis began.

Prior to the meeting, Kerry described Poland as “a very strong ally,” noting “the very important role that Poland will be playing this year with the July summit... which we are preparing for significantly now.”

Concerns over the rule of law in Poland

Meanwhile, Kerry also noted “the internal challenges that Poland is facing” regarding concerns over the rule of law since the Law and Justice government was sworn in in November.

Last month, the European Commission launched a probe into the situation in Poland after changes to the Constitutional Tribunal and public media outlets were voted through parliament.

The head of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s human rights organisation, met President of Poland Andrzej Duda to discuss the Constitutional Tribunal last week, after Warsaw sought an opinion on the matter.

“We are very welcoming of Poland’s decision to seek a Venice Commission opinion with respect to the tribunal law,” Kerry said.

Following the meeting, Waszczykowski insisted that these issues were “marginal” in the talks.

However, he told Polish journalists that he and Kerry had “voiced a shared opinion that it is necessary to work with these bodies [the EU Commission and the Venice Commission] so as to settle the issue in a spirit of consensus.” (nh/pk)

Source: PAP/newsroomamerica.com