Challenging Prejudice: Polish General Claims Russia Becomes Western Ally

Due to the changing international climate, Russia is becoming not an opponent of the West, but its ally, an ex-commander of the Polish Special Forces GROM and a former deputy head of the Bureau of National Security, General Roman Polko, said in an interview with Polish media portal wPolityce.

"One should not forget that the current situation has begun to change again. The West is reoriented to combat Islamic State and is focused on what is happening in the Mediterranean Sea. The Russian issue is not only going by the wayside, but Moscow is even gradually becoming an ally. Moves made by Polish allies show that the West and Russia have more things that unite them than separate."

According to the Polish general, Russia and the West cooperate in economic, political and military sectors.

"We see that [Russia and the Western countries] continue to do business. I also see military cooperation, for example, the exchange of military technology, there are energy interests as well, in particular, gas. In addition, Russia is considered a potential ally in the fight against Islamic State. It is known that recently a hot line between NATO and the Russian Armed Forces has been launched," Polko told the Polish media portal.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia's Ministry of Defense have set up a direct military-to-military communication link to deal with any issues they might face amid mounting tensions, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Sunday.

At the same time, according to the Polish military, Western diplomacy is rather losing and retreating in relations with Russia.

"Our diplomacy should seek to inform Russia of the preconditions for possible cooperation," he said, adding that the West started to retreat from its previous stance after several rounds of sanctions against Russia, which proved to be ineffective.