"We will strengthen military cooperation. We will hold joint military exercises. We will look for additional opportunities for joint training of our armies, we will improve military mobility," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda during his meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Vilnius on Sunday. President Nausėda added that currently, Poland and Lithuania "are ensuring the security of the entire region."

 Polish Army servicemen of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia with their tanks PT-91 participate in military exercises Namejs and Silver Arrow in Adazi polygon, Latvia, 29 September 2023. Photo by VALDA KALNINA/PAP/EPA

The Polish president has drawn attention to the Suwałki Corridor, which, as emphasized by Andrzej Duda, is a "region that requires special attention, particularly monitoring of this area." "We know how sensitive this area is from the perspective of European security today, what we call the Suwałki Corridor," said Duda. The Suwałki Corridor is approximately a 100-kilometer-long Polish-Lithuanian border, bordering the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast to the west and Belarus to the east.

The latest military exercises of soldiers from Poland and Lithuania took place in early July 2023 in Klaipėda, by the Danė River. Special operations units from both countries trained there in reclaiming seized critical infrastructure.

The Lithuanian president also emphasized the pivotal importance of solidarity between Lithuania and Poland in supporting Ukraine and expressed hope about arranging a meeting involving representatives from the Lublin Triangle countries, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the near future.

The Lublin Triangle is a regional alliance among three European countries – Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine – aimed at enhancing mutual military, cultural, economic, and political cooperation. The alliance also seeks to support Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO.

(J)