We have read a number of analytical articles about the benefits of upcoming trialateral alliance of Poland, Ukraine and the UK. We talked even about the potential role and participation of Georgia in this interesting initiative. However the knowledge and information around the visions and expectations of Warsaw in regard to Poland-Ukraine-UK trio is still limited among Georgians (and not only Georgians). That’s why we decided to offer an analytical report that will stress the main perspectives that appear from the point of view of Warsaw.
The article is based on the evaluations and opinions expressed (WWW.PAP.PL) by former Commander of the Land Forces and former Deputy Head of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland, General Waldemar Skrzypczak and The Foreign Policy team.
The emerging alliance of Great Britain, Poland and Ukraine will connect countries sharing the same principles and aware of the threats to Europe’s security, emphasized the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba said that Ukraine had come forward with the initiative to establish a trilateral cooperation in the fall. He expressed his gratitude to his British and Polish counterparts – Liz Truss and Zbigniew Rau – for their lively reaction to this idea.
The new format – as he pointed out – brings together countries with common rules that want to strengthen security and develop trade, and are ready to take specific actions.
Both Warsaw, Kiev and London are aware of the threats to Europe’s security and have a strategy to counter Russian challenges, but also have great potential for trilateral cooperation in the field of trade, investment, energy, including renewable energy, emphasized the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He stressed that this is part of the Ukrainian strategy of small formats, such as, for example, the Lublin Triangle (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine). “The point is that we cannot wait for security and development sometime in the future when we become EU and NATO members. We need it today,” he wrote on Facebook. “So we are already achieving practical reinforcement today, uniting friendly and close-in-heart countries into small alliances,” he added.
The survey conducted by the Rating center shows that the idea of establishing such an alliance is supported by approx. 60% of Ukrainians.
Any such agreement is an expression of the will to cooperate, both political and military. This is a clear message: we are jointly opposing the Russian aggression – this is how the former commander of the Land Forces and former deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense, General Waldemar Skrzypczak, commented in an interview with PAP.PL about the alliance between Poland, Great Britain and Ukraine.
Foreign ministers are working on a possible format that could bring closer cooperation in many fields between Poland, Ukraine and Great Britain – Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Tuesday.
“It is an alliance between two NATO members and a partner state of NATO. I am a strong supporter of this type of solutions” – General Skrzypczak assessed these reports. In his opinion, Poland should establish closer cooperation with other partners of the Alliance, with particular emphasis on those located in the Baltic Sea region, e.g. with Sweden and Finland.
Gen. Skrzypczak emphasized that the alliance was not equivalent to sending contingents to Ukraine. “If the need arose, British and Polish troops could be sent to Ukraine with the consent of NATO. We must remember that Great Britain is far away, and due to our geographical location we are close to the Russian front,” he added.
The former commander of the Land Forces also referred to the information about the planned delivery of defensive weapons to Ukraine by the Polish government.
“The concept is quite broad, as it can mean any type of weapon used to repel an attack. The tank can also be treated as a defensive weapon, assuming that it will be used for defense” – said the former deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense.
When asked to comment on last week’s announcement by the German government about the transfer of 5,000 helmets to Ukraine as part of military support, he said that in the military context “it has a cabaret dimension.” “The behavior of Germany is puzzling. It differs significantly from the actions of other NATO members. It is an expression of the weakness of the new German government, which is dominated by politicians connected with business,” he said.
According to gen. Skrzypczak, Germany is faced with a choice between: freedom, democracy and sovereignty of Eastern European states and its own interests. “If they choose the latter, they will lose credibility in both the European Union and NATO,” he said. General stressed that other NATO members should marginalize the policy currently presented by Germany.
At the same time, it is impossible not to notice that the Kiev-Warsaw-London alliance is, in a way, a kind of counter to the actions of the rest of Europe. Especially Germany. Ukraine has undisguised claims that Berlin is too submissive to Russia, and is reluctant not only to provide some tangible support, but also to block the reaction of the rest of the West. Poland has also been cooperating with the British on Ukraine for a long time, also calling for a more resolute response to Moscow.
If now Ukraine enters into an alliance with Great Britain and Poland, others may also join the new pact in the future. For example the Baltic States, also feeling the constant threat from Russia. The strategy of smaller local alliances created outside NATO structures is by no means new. An example is the AUKUS agreement concluded between Great Britain, the USA and Australia. This “pacific” security format is aimed at China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the Pacific Ocean.
Article will be published in Georgian language soon.
The Foreign Policy Council 