According to Polish news outlet Onet, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that his country would help, even before the two nations had joined the NATO military alliance. The two Scandinavian nations formally applied to join on Wednesday over growing concerns about Russia.
He said: “I would like to clearly say that in the event of an attack on Sweden or Finland during their accession process to NATO, Poland will come to their aid”.
Mr Morawiecki stressed that the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO would be “a significant signal of strengthening security in Europe and a serious defeat for the Kremlin”.
Last Wednesday, Boris Johnson travelled to the two Scandinavian nations to sign agreements that ensure military assistance if either nation is attacked. The same is true for if the UK were to be attacked.
The Prime Minister and Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson said co-operation was now “even more important” given the invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson said the “solemn declaration” between the UK and Finland was reflective of the “extreme difficulty of the times we are in”.
A week later, the two nations formally applied to join NATO. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, said at the time the two nations were the alliance’s “closest partners” already.
The news was received with ire in Moscow, however. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would have to “rebalance the situation”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry threatened a “military-technical” response if the two nations were to join the military alliance.
More to follow…