'Evil empire' must be aware of Nato states' resilience says Polish MoD

The defence minister has said that Poland has been consistent in building Nato's resilience by means of developing its own army and through its regular training exercises.

"The aim of Nato's armed forces is to deter and to show the evil empire that the alliance-member countries are resilient," Mariusz Blaszczak said at the Zielona (Green) training ground near Bialystok, north-eastern Poland, on Monday.

Blaszczak, who attended the Amber Desire 22 periodic exercise said that, apart from its training nature, its goal was also to show that "we are ready for threats which the Nato eastern flank countries face."

According to Blaszczak, Nato states and their armies must also show that they have forces which are so capable that proceeding with an attack against the North Atlantic Alliance "would not be worthwhile" for those trying to rebuild the Russian empire.