Poland may join US-led mission in Strait of Hormuz

Poland is considering supporting a US-led mission to protect the Strait of Hormuz, but has not made a formal decision yet, Reuters reported on Friday.

“From our point of view actions to stabilise this region would be justified,” a spokeswoman at Poland’s foreign ministry told Reuters in a statement.

“We have to wait to work out whether, and if so, in what form Poland could join such an initiative,” she added.

It’s unclear when Poland, which has sought to strengthen ties with the US since the Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in 2015, will make a decision on the matter.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz first made the comments to German news agency dpa on Friday.

READ: Europe trade channel with Iran close to 1st deal in days – France

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has reiterated that Germany will not take part in a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would instead prefer to form a European mission.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she believed the idea of a European naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed again at informal meetings of European foreign and defence ministers in Finland later this month.

The US has pushed to secure the strait, which lies between Oman and Iran and through which almost a fifth of the world’s oil passes, as tensions haven risen between Iran, Britain and the United States in recent months.

Poland has in the past offered military support to US-led missions – its soldiers took part in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.