2024-09-12 21:47 update: 2024-09-14, 16:26
Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Poland has a right to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine before they enter its airspace.
Blinken supported Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski's statement during a joint press conference in Warsaw on Thursday.
"We stand as much as possible on the side of Poland, which has the right to self-defence," he said. He declared that the US was ready to defend its NATO ally.
Sikorski argued in an interview for the Financial Times in early September that Poland and other countries bordering Ukraine have a duty to shoot down incoming Russian missiles before they enter their airspace. He claimed that Poland is obliged to ensure the safety of its citizens regardless of concerns that intercepting missiles over Ukrainian territory could entangle NATO in the war.
At the conference on Thursday, the Polish minister pointed out that Poland deals not only with frequent breaches of its airspace but also with acts of sabotage, such as arson, orchestrated by Russia. Many of them, he said, had been prevented thanks to the joint work of Polish and American intelligence agencies.
He warned that "If there is another 'fire' where a Polish citizen is injured, Poland will take action that Russia will notice." (PAP)
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