Poland’s government has requested that the German Patriot missile systems that have been stationed on Polish territory since January remain in place “at least until the end of this year”.
The two countries are also hoping to finalise an agreement within the next 10 days on establishing a maintenance hub in Poland for repairing German-made Leopard tanks damaged in Ukraine, but admit that the “negotiations are not easy”.
President Duda has given consent for German troops to be stationed on Polish soil in order to operate the Patriot air defence systems that Germany is transferring to Poland https://t.co/vxOSCPbyyE
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 13, 2023
Last year, after a Ukrainian air defence missile accidentally fell in Poland and killed two people during a wave of Russian attacks, Germany offered to transfer some of its Patriot air defence systems to Poland.
The issue initially caused diplomatic tensions after the Polish government proposed instead that the systems be placed in western Ukraine. However, eventually, in January this year, arrangements were finalised for three German Patriot units to be stationed in eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine.
The systems were due to stay there only until the end of June, but they remain in place. Yesterday, German defence minister Boris Pistorius and his Polish counterpart Mariusz Błasczak visited them and held talks.
W 18 Pułku Przeciwlotniczym w #Zamość, minister @mblaszczak 🇵🇱 spotkał się z ministrem obrony Republiki Federalnej Niemiec 🇩🇪Borisem Pistoriusem. Na spotkaniu omówione zostały kwestie związane m. in. z sytuacją bezpieczeństwa w regionie. pic.twitter.com/XE3iv4Lpmc
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) July 3, 2023
“We appreciate the presence of these [Patriot] batteries on Polish soil,” said Błaszczak. “I have indicated that we are interested in the Patriot system being on Polish soil at least until the end of this year.”
He noted that the Patriots help protect deliveries of equipment to Ukraine through Poland, which has become the main transit hub for international support to Kyiv. Błaszczak added that the recent transfer of nuclear weapons to Belarus by Russia and the presence of Wagner forces there has increased threats.
The minister also referred to a report on Sunday in German news weekly Der Spiegel. Based on unnamed industry sources, it claimed that unreasonable demands from the Polish side had caused delays in plans to open a maintenance centre for Leopard tanks in Poland.
The tank repair hub for the Leopard 2 that was to be setup in Poland between RHM, KNDS and PGZ has made no tangible progress in the last 2 months.
Industry sources claim PGZ to be the cause of this for asking unreasonable prices for simple work.
— Jeff2146🇧🇪 (@Jeff21461) July 2, 2023
“The negotiations are not easy,” admitted Błaszczak. “We were able to read in Der Spiegel that there are some misunderstandings. We have identified three points. We solved one, I hope we’ll solve two more. At least on the Polish side there is full openness. We want to support Ukraine and cooperate on this with our German neighbour.”
“We are both aware of our responsibility,” added Pistorius, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “We are the leading countries in the supply of Leopard tanks. We cannot reduce our support for Ukraine…Repair is an essential part of [that] continued support.”
The German minister confirmed that talks over the Leopard maintenance centre, which began in February, “are very advanced” and that “we believe they should be concluded within 10 days,”. However, he noted that such negotiations are “intense and complex,” echoing his Polish counterpart.
Poland will today become the first country to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine, on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Officials say the tanks are already in Ukraine, with the transfer to be officially announced by @MorawieckiM in Kyiv this afternoon https://t.co/7SuvZFtmuS
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 24, 2023
Main image credit: MON (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
