German troops would be welcome in Poland to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank against any threat posed by Russia, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna has said. His comments could signal a shift from Warsaw towards Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939, marking the start of World War Two.
After Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the former German ambassador to Warsaw, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, probed whether Warsaw would like German soldiers in its fellow NATO member, but the offer was refused, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported.
On the 2023 Polish election campaign trail, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, expressed anti-German sentiment rooted in grievances over World War Two. He once said it would be “seven generations” before German soldiers could step on Polish soil.
But Szejna told Rzeczpospolita that Warsaw was open to the possibility of German help to protect Poland from Russia.
“When the war is taking place behind our eastern border, any help and cooperation from our allies is most welcome,” he said. “So, if the Germans want to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank in Poland as they did in Lithuania, herzlich willkommen!” he added, using the German phrase for “welcome.”
Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images
This is a developing story and will be updated with further information.
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