“Poland and Romania, as the countries of NATO’s eastern flank, have an important role to play, presenting a common position of the countries of the region on security and NATO.” Said the head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) Paweł Soloch.

During his visit to Romania, the head of BBN discussed bilateral and allied cooperation, also in the context of groups such as the B9 group or the Three Seas Initiative. Mr Soloch’s interlocutors were: National Security Adviser to the President of Romania, Ion Oprisor, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and Defence Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă.

“We talked with the Romanian side about what we can do bilaterally, and in a wider regional context, it is about building a common message also in the face of the new situation that we are dealing with after the emergence of the new American administration and in view of the preparations for the NATO summit”, said Mr Soloch.

He added that “we have the issue of NATO’s strategic adaptation. Hybrid threats related to cybersecurity were added to the traditional military threats. The source of these threats – not only from our point of view – is primarily Russia. Comprehensive responses are needed to address complex threats” – said the head of BBN. He recalled that a similar discussion was taking place at the EU forum. “It would be good for us to agree on a position so that this discussion in Europe would not violate the transatlantic ties, which are being redefined with the arrival of the new administration” – he stressed.

Cooperation of the armaments industries and joint exercises, including the Defender-Europe 21 exercise planned for May this year, which is to take place in Romania with the participation of Polish soldiers, were discussed as issues of bilateral cooperation.

Cooperation with Ukraine and Turkey was also raised among regional issues. Mr Solosh said that “Polish-Romanian cooperation has a great regional potential. We know that there is a positive reaction from Ukraine, we will strive to meet at the level of presidential advisers in the Poland-Romania-Ukraine triangle”.