Polish, Croatian FMs discuss security, infrastructure cooperation
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic Radman held talks in Warsaw on Wednesday focusing on economic, infrastructure and defence cooperation, the Polish foreign ministry wrote on X.
The meeting also addressed regional issues, including transatlantic relations and European defence.
According to the ministry, the talks included Croatia's presidency of the Three Seas Initiative, which unites states located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, as well as "infrastructure cooperation, support for Ukraine, the situation in the Western Balkans, and prospects for EU enlargement."
Sikorski expressed support for Croatia's bid to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, of which Poland has been a member since 1996.
The discussions additionally covered transatlantic relations and efforts to strengthen Europe's defence capabilities amid evolving security challenges.
In his statement for the media later on Wednesday, Sikorski underscored the importance of spending more on defence in the face of Russia's aggressive policy.
"We agree that due to an increased threat from Russia it is necessary to continue to raise defence spending," Sikorski said.
The Polish minister welcomed Croatia crossing the threshold of 2 percent of the country's GDP having been spent on defence last year and Zagreb's plans to gradually increase the spending level in subsequent years.
"This demonstrates the responsibility and solidarity of our partners, and also creates opportunities for cooperation between our defence industries," Sikorski said. "In the face of global geopolitical turmoil caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Croatia as allies."
Sikorski also said he and Radman had agreed that Europe needs to bolster its defence capabilities with the use of local industry.
"We have no doubt that Putin's Russia will be one of the key threats to our security," the Polish minister said.
Radman reported that during his conversation with Sikorski, they had discussed the Israeli-US war against Iran.
"We agreed that this is a threat to international security, and we agreed that it is crucial to prevent the conflict from spreading to other countries in the region. We expressed our hope that weapons will be replaced by dialogue as soon as possible," the Croatian minister said. (PAP)
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