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Biden visits Poland for talks on Russia's war in Ukraine

25.03.2022 13:00
US President Joe Biden on Friday begins a busy two-day trip to Poland to discuss the West's further response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden.
US President Joe Biden.PAP/EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

His visit will mark the 14th time a US president has come to Poland, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Biden will be greeted by President Andrzej Duda in the southeastern city of Rzeszów, officials told reporters.

The two leaders will meet with local charities helping refugees from Ukraine, according to PAP.

Afterwards, Biden is set to visit American troops stationed in Poland, while Duda will meet with Polish soldiers, reporters were told. 

Duda-Biden talks

The two presidents are set to meet again on Saturday for talks at the presidential palace in Warsaw. 

In a televised speech to the Polish people on Thursday, Duda said: “The presence of the American leader in our country in those trying days is a very important sign corroborating the strategic nature of Polish-American relations.”

He added: “In the face of a genuine threat, we can see in all clarity that strong American leadership is needed in the world. We see how important the presence and engagement of the United States in Europe are.”

Duda also said that a “secure Poland and secure Europe need more of America," both militarily and economically.

"These will be the topics I will raise in my talks with the United States President,” he announced.

Biden to address Poles

On Saturday afternoon, Biden is expected to make an address to the Polish people outside Warsaw’s Royal Castle.

According to the White House, he will speak about “the united efforts of the free world to support the people of Ukraine, hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and defend a future that is rooted in democratic principles."

Also on Saturday, Biden is set to visit a refugee support centre at Warsaw’s National Stadium alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, officials told reporters.

'A frontline and very vulnerable ally'

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has said that the visit comes at a time when Poland "has taken the brunt of the humanitarian impact outside of Ukraine in terms of the refugee flows."

Poland is also where the United States "has surged a significant number of forces to be able to help defend and shore up the eastern flank," Sullivan added.

"Poland has to contend not just with the war in Ukraine but with Russia’s military deployments to Belarus, which have fundamentally changed the security equation there," Sullivan told reporters earlier this week.

"And so, for all of those reasons, we feel that it is the right place for him to go to be able to see troops, to be able to see humanitarian experts, and to be able to meet with a frontline and very vulnerable ally," Sullivan said.

Friday is day 30 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Poland on Friday reported it had welcomed 2.24 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, president.pl, whitehouse.gov, ft.com