No damage to Polish security caused by generals' resignations says PM
The resignations of two of Poland’s most senior military commanders has had no effect on Polish security, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister said on Thursday, adding there is “no need to push the panic button”.
The news that Gen. Rajmund Andrzejczak, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and Gen. Tomasz Piotrowski, the Operational Commander, had submitted their resignations came as unwelcome news for the government given that the country goes to the polls on Sunday in a general election.
It also arrived at a time of heightened geo-political tensions in Central and Eastern Europe owing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and prompted speculation of a rift between the government and the armed forces.
But in an interview with the interia.pl website, Morawiecki said the resignations would not be "a devastating blow to the security of Poland."
"These fears are definitely exaggerated," he said. "There is no need for us to 'push the panic button'.
"Security is strongly associated with increased spending on the military, with the rebuilding of military units, large-scale purchases of weapons and military equipment, the recruitment of new soldiers and not with the numbers of generals or whether two leave or stay," Morawiecki added.
He said that, in his opinion, there was not "any significant tension" between the defence ministry and the armed forces and added that "the decision of two generals will have no impact on the functioning of the army and on national security."
Morawiecki also said that the country's security was primarily related to "a strong army that improves its combat capabilities, like the kind we are building and the kind that Nato allies appreciate today." (PAP)
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