The new US-Polish military treaty indicates that NATO "does not intend to stop strengthening its positions near the Russian borders." This opinion was expressed in an interview with RT by the head of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Leonid Vardomsky.
"The line of the North Atlantic Alliance to increase tensions near the borders of Russia continues, and Warsaw is in this case the representative of Washington in this part of Central and Eastern Europe," the analyst said.
Recall that on August 15, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaschak signed an agreement in Warsaw to expand military cooperation between the two countries. According to the statements of the Polish side, the document creates a legal basis for the permanent presence in the country of US military personnel, "both in the planned volume and in the event of a possible future expansion."
“This means that the agreement signed today opens up opportunities for expanding the presence of American troops in Poland, as well as conducting more exercises of the US Armed Forces in our country,” Blaschak said.
At the same time, they say in Warsaw that the infrastructure will make it possible to accommodate up to 20 thousand American troops.
“We are convinced that the (existing. - RT ) infrastructure will accommodate up to 20,000 American servicemen. Of course, if necessary ... For us, the main advantage of this agreement is the guarantee of Poland's security. In this case, there is also an economic benefit. And our servicemen will have the opportunity to further strengthen military cooperation (of the two countries - RT). Together we are stronger! " - emphasized Blaschak.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak sign an agreement in Warsaw on enhanced military cooperation between the two countries
- © Janek Skarzynski / Pool via REUTERS
In addition, Warsaw will provide the American armed forces with military facilities, including new ones, for exclusive or joint use. The Polish side also assumes the costs of providing US military personnel with housing, food and fuel.
Analysts draw particular attention to the fact that, under the terms of the document, Poland is using its sovereign right to relinquish the priority of national criminal jurisdiction over Americans.
“Thus, at the request of the United States and in confirmation of its commitment to the principles of mutual defense, the Republic of Poland hereby acts at its own discretion within the framework of its sovereignty and waives the priority right of the Republic of Poland to exercise criminal jurisdiction (on the territory of the extraterritorial base. - RT ) in accordance with clause 3 c) Article 7 of the NATO status of forces treaty, ”the treaty says.
Political analysts state that in this way "Poland is actually renouncing the supremacy of its jurisdiction in relations with the Americans."
At the same time, according to Leonid Vardomsky, Poland is "not at all embarrassed by this fact."
“They don't give a damn about their sovereignty. At first they fought for it, but only in order to now sell it to the Americans when it became profitable for them, ”the analyst says.
"To annoy Russia"
Commenting on the signing of the agreement between Warsaw and Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that "the openly anti-Russian orientation of this document is not only not concealed, but is emphasized in every possible way by American and Polish officials."
“The agreed set of measures fully meets the guidelines of the latest NATO summits, which have consolidated the course of“ containing ”Russia, creating dividing lines and escalating tensions in Europe while refusing to work together to fulfill the task proclaimed in the OSCE documents after the end of the Cold War - to form on the continent a common space of cooperation and trust ”, - noted in the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
The ministry also stressed that the buildup of the American military presence in Poland "does not solve the security problem, on the contrary, it only exacerbates the already difficult situation near the western borders of Russia, contributing to the escalation of tensions and increasing the risk of unintended incidents."
“The assurances of the NATO side that we are talking about an allegedly insignificant and rotational nature of the reinforcements are perceived as attempts to distort reality - the implementation of the American-Polish agreement will qualitatively strengthen the offensive potential of the US forces in Poland,” Zakharova said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also recalled that the plans reflected in the document "change the security conditions in Europe and run counter to the provisions of the 1997 Russia-NATO Founding Act."
- Russian Foreign Ministry
- © Natalia Selivyorstova / RIA Novosti
Leonid Vardomsky, in turn, stated that the United States, and therefore NATO, "traditionally deploy its troops without regard to international documents."
“They have long ignored all these agreements with Russia for the sake of implementing their aggressive plans,” the expert said.
Political scientist Yuri Bondarenko, in a conversation with RT, said that the new US-Polish agreement "should be viewed in the context of the policy of Russophobia that is being pursued by Warsaw."
“In order to somehow annoy Russia, Poland is ready to give up its own sovereignty and go to any infringement of the rights of its own citizens, because the American military will certainly break the law and go unpunished, judging by the document. But instead of condemning possible wrongdoing, Warsaw will continue to feed the American military. And all for the sake of maintaining tension on the border with the Russian Federation, ”the political scientist emphasized in a conversation with RT.
Belarusian border
From the point of view of analysts, increasing the size of the American contingent, Warsaw and Washington also want to put pressure on Minsk.
"They (Poland. - RT ) lure American troops to themselves in order to insure themselves if they want to encroach on the territory of Belarus - that is, against the background of unrest in the country, try to appropriate part of the border areas for themselves," Vardomsky admitted.
Let us remind you that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on August 27 that the Polish authorities, whom he had earlier accused of involvement in destabilizing the situation in the country, want to appropriate part of the Belarusian lands.
“You see these statements that if Belarus disintegrates, the Grodno region will go to Poland. They already openly talk about it, sleep and see. They will not succeed in this regard, I know this for sure, ”the Belarusian Telegraph Agency quotes Lukashenko.
According to the politician, a number of states are beginning to interfere in the country's internal affairs and are waging a "diplomatic war" against Minsk. Meanwhile, Belarus has to spend a lot of money to stabilize the situation on its western borders.
Earlier, Lukashenka noted that the instigators of the protests “are sitting near Warsaw, near Vilnius”.
“Today there are enough of those who would like to chop off at least a piece of this land, especially this western pearl of Belarus,” he said at a rally of his supporters in Grodno.
- US-Polish exercises in Poland
- © Cezary Aszkielowicz / Agencja Gazeta via REUTERS
After that, the head of the Polish president's office, Krzysztof Szczerski, said that Poland had no intentions to violate the territorial integrity of the Belarusian state.
Meanwhile, the Charge d'Affaires of Poland in Minsk, Marcin Voytekhovsky, was summoned to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry to protest over "attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the republic."
As noted by Leonid Vardomsky, the Polish leadership "for some reason believes that it can turn to other states for military assistance under various pretexts, while Belarus cannot."
“In Poland, revanchist voices are often heard calling for the return of once lost territories, while opposing both Moscow and Minsk. However, Russia will not allow these plans to come true, ”the expert emphasized.