May to agree deal with Poland to counter 'Russian disinformation'

London (dpa) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to agree deals in Poland to counter "Russian  disinformation" in eastern Europe and expand bilateral defence and cyber security cooperation on Thursday.May is also expected to raise concerns with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki over judicial independence in Poland, after the European Union issued a formal warning on Wednesday that the country was in breach of EU values.May and her foreign, defence, finance and other senior ministers will attend an annuual summit with their Polish counterparts in Warsaw, where May is expected to announce a new Britain-Poland treaty on defence and security co-operation, Downing Street said.It said she also plans to agree "improved UK-Poland cooperation to counter Russian disinformation in the region, including through new joint strategic communications projects."Britain and Poland will each contribute 5 million pounds (6.7 million dollars) to build capacity to "detect and counter Russian information operations" and support to Belsat, a Polish-funded television channel providing "unbiased, free and frank reporting for Belarusians.""I am determined that Brexit will not weaken our relationship with Poland. Rather, it will serve as a catalyst to strengthen it," May said in a statement ahead of the visit."And that is why I am in Warsaw today, to ensure that we can work even more closely together to ensure the security and prosperity of our nations in the years ahead," she said.May said the planned defence treaty would be "a powerful symbol" of the two countrieslsquo; "continued close cooperation."