DIRMISKES, Lithuania (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda said Friday that “a potential aggressor must see our readiness" as he and his Lithuanian counterpart monitored a joint military drill along their shared border.
Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda met on the last day of the week-long Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise along the Suwalki Gap, a strategically important stretch of land that's considered a potential flashpoint area in case of a standoff between Russia and NATO.
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DIRMISKES, Lithuania (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda said Friday that “a potential aggressor must see our readiness" as he and his Lithuanian counterpart monitored a joint military drill along their shared border.
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda speaks during a joint media conference with Poland's President Andrej Duda during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap close to the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, right, speaks during a joint media conference with Poland's President Andrej Duda, during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
From left, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Poland's President Andrej Duda to watch a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuanian Army soldiers take part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military vehicles takes part in the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A Lithuanian Army soldier takes part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Poland's President Andrej Duda, left, and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda sit together to watch a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Poland's President Andrej Duda, left, arrive to attend in the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Poland's President Andrej Duda speaks during a joint media conference with Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap close to the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
The border, almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) long between NATO members Poland and Lithuania, is also a land corridor between Belarus, a Moscow ally, and Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
“There is a potential threat, which is why these exercises are going on," Duda said.
The drill included 1,500 Lithuanian infantry soldiers, nearly 200 members of Poland’s 15th Mechanized Brigade, and U.S. and Portuguese military personnel.
Until recently the land border was seen as vulnerable because if Russia were to ever seize the Suwalki Gap, it could leave Lithuania and the other two Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, cut off from Poland and other NATO allies.
However that perception of the corridor has changed since Sweden joined NATO in March, as the Baltic Sea now is almost surrounded by NATO countries and any attempts to cut off the corridor would not leave Baltic countries severed. The Baltic Sea is Russia’s maritime point of access to the city of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, which is separated from the Russian mainland.
The border stretch, named after a nearby Polish town, also provides land access connections between Belarus and Kaliningrad. Russian citizens have a visa waiver arrangement for passing through the area.
—— Dapkus reported from Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausedas and Poland's President Andrej Duda, right, attend a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda speaks during a joint media conference with Poland's President Andrej Duda during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap close to the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, right, speaks during a joint media conference with Poland's President Andrej Duda, during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
From left, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Poland's President Andrej Duda to watch a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuanian Army soldiers take part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military vehicles takes part in the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A Lithuanian Army soldier takes part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Poland's President Andrej Duda, left, and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda sit together to watch a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and Poland's President Andrej Duda, left, arrive to attend in the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. Over 1500 troops and 200 pieces of tactical equipment are rehearsing defence scenarios under the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish Orsha Plan near the Suwalki Gap. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Poland's President Andrej Duda speaks during a joint media conference with Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda during the Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap close to the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, Alytus district west of the capital Vilnius in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024. The week-long military exercise which started April 22, is to test a defense scenario on the bilateral so-called “Orsha” plan to defend the Suwałki Gap, a corridor of almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the two NATO members Poland and Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
