WARSAW

In a shift from the previous leadership, the new Polish government would welcome German soldiers stationed in Poland, the nation's foreign minister said in an interview published Monday.

"German officers are already working here (in Poland) in several NATO outposts, in my hometown of Bydgoszcz, and also in Szczecin (near the German border). After Russian missiles fell near the border, we temporarily deployed German Patriot batteries to secure the eastern border" with besieged Ukraine, Radoslaw Sikorski told Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

On the discussion sparked by the previous – nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) – government about the advisability of deploying a German anti-missile defense system in Poland, Sikorski said: "At that time, Poland had a nationalist government. We are done with demonizing democratic Germany. This is a controversial topic for nationalists, but not for us. Germany is our ally, we are happy with allied cooperation to secure NATO territory. So German soldiers would be welcome here," he said.

Russian missiles with nuclear warheads deployed in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad – which borders Poland – pose an equal threat to both Poland and Germany, he added.

According to Sikorski, former US President Donald Trump's recent statements suggesting the US would not defend countries thought to spend too little on defense should be "an inspiration for a serious discussion about European defense and to increase funds for this purpose."

Asked about Poland's position on the idea of building a European nuclear potential, Sikorski replied: "French President Emmanuel Macron spoke in this spirit. I think it wouldn't hurt if we tried to explain what exactly he meant.”

"Slowly" - the minister responded when asked whether he would agree to storing European nuclear weapons on Polish territory. "I am a great supporter of common European defense, but we are not that far yet. The European defense budget is only now being created. And Germany is reluctant to expand it," he explained.

Sikorski said that the priority is to create rapid reaction troops, ready to be used in case the US is engaged in another conflict at that time.​​​​​​​