Poland and France agree to deepen strategic partnership

• ‘The French-Polish partnership has never been so close,’ Poland’s foreign minister said

Poland and France will deepen their strategic partnership, expanding cooperation on European security, support for Ukraine and economic ties, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Thursday after talks in Warsaw with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot.

"The Franco-Polish partnership has never been so close," Sikorski told a joint news conference, describing France as one of Poland's key strategic partners in Europe.

The meeting comes two months after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a bilateral friendship and cooperation treaty in the French city of Nancy, committing the two countries to closer collaboration on defense, security, energy and infrastructure.

Sikorski said the ministers discussed continued military and political support for Ukraine, strengthening Europe's defense capabilities, cooperation within NATO and the EU, and expanding bilateral trade and investment.

Barrot said France viewed Poland as an increasingly important partner on the eastern flank of both NATO and the EU and welcomed closer coordination on European security as Russia's war in Ukraine continued.

The ministers also discussed preparations for upcoming European meetings, transatlantic relations and efforts to expand Europe's defense industrial capacity.