Defense Minister: Our part of Europe in real danger

"The part of Europe we live in is in real danger. Never before, since World War II, did we face such a situation," Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz proclaimed in an interview with Rzeczpospolita daily, referring to tensions with Russia. The Minister emphasized: "Russia is the aggressor and is not hiding its aggressive intentions. This situation is unprecedented and until the Kremlin authorities change their policy, we have to treat Russia as the biggest threat to peace in Europe and in the world." However, Macierewicz mentioned that Russia is not the only guilty party in this situation. "It was not Russia’s behaviour alone that made our allies change their minds. It was also caused by a change in Polish government policy after the 2015 elections," he said. According to the minister, the current Polish government (Law and Justice party, PiS) has made it very clear that a continuous presence of NATO combat troops is needed in Poland, rather than just temporary exercises. "We made a decision to expand the Polish army, we’re building up local defense groups, we’re now spending two percent of our budget on the army and we are demonstrating solidarity with our allies," Macierewicz concluded.