The 78 soldiers will be part of the NATO force there.
Croatia and Poland will soon sign an agreement to improve defence co-operation, and in about two weeks a group of Croatian soldiers will travel to Poland to take part in a NATO mission, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said on Monday after meeting with Polish Defence Minister Antonio Macierewicz, reports N1 on October 2, 2017.
“We have prepared an agreement for the promotion of defence cooperation, and today we will make all the arrangements for the agreement to be signed shortly. We want to cooperate with Poland in the areas of special forces and military police, and there is also an essential military-technical and military-scientific cooperation,” Krstičević said in a statement after the meeting.
He stressed that the cooperation was vital due to security challenges facing Europe, which are very complex and require more intensive collaboration between the EU and NATO members, exchange of experiences and information exchange to make it easier to fight against all security threats and risks.
Krstičević also announced that 78 Croatian soldiers would leave for Poland in about two weeks as part of the NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence. They will be part of the United States-led combat group. “The soldiers are ready, and they will leave in about fifteen days.” He added that Poland asked for the troops from Croatia as a friend and partner.
“I believe that, if Croatia were to need something similar tomorrow, Poland would do likewise and it would send its soldiers here to Croatia. We are glad to participate, that our troops will go there,” said Krstičević.
Minister Macierewicz thanked Croatia for the expressed solidarity, noting that the Croatian Army was highly respected in Poland as an example of military expertise and love for its country. The ministers confirmed excellent bilateral relations between the two nations, based on a strong partnership and a high level of mutual understanding.
They exchanged views on the current security and political situation in Europe and the world and confirmed their commitment to NATO's open door policy, as well as the readiness to continue supporting the aspirants for NATO membership.
After meeting with Krstičević, the Polish Defence Minister also met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Another group of Croatian soldiers is expected to travel to Lithuania as part of the same NATO mission, which is aimed at signalling to Russia that NATO is ready to defend its eastern members.
Translated from N1.
