US President Joe Biden arrived in Poland on Friday afternoon for a busy two-day trip to discuss the international community's response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis the war has created.
US President Joe Biden touched down in Poland on Friday afternoon for a busy two-day trip to discuss the West's response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis the war has created. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
His arrival marked the 14th time a US president has visited Poland, local news outlets reported.
US President Joe Biden's trip marks the 14th time a US president has visited Poland, according to officials. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
After his Air Force One plane landed at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in the southeast of the country, Biden was greeted by a delegation of officials led by Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
The US leader then left the airport to visit American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Rzeszów, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Later in the day, Biden met with local charities helping refugees from war-torn Ukraine together with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Polish President Andrzej Duda (right) and US President Joe Biden (left) meet with charity workers helping refugees from Ukraine, in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszów on Friday, March 25, 2022. Photo: PAP/Łukasz Gągulski
The meeting focused on the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, officials told reporters.
Biden announced in a tweet that the United States "is prepared to provide an additional USD 1 billion for humanitarian assistance and welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression."
Talks with Duda, major speech
Around noon on Saturday, Biden and Duda are scheduled to meet for bilateral talks at the presidential palace in Warsaw.
On Saturday afternoon, Biden is expected to make a major address to the Polish people outside Warsaw’s historic 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 together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, officials told reporters.
'Strategic nature of Polish-American relations'
In a televised address to the nation ahead of Biden's visit, Poland's 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.
'A frontline and very vulnerable ally'
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said that Biden's 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.
Saturday is day 31 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A day earlier, Poland reported it had welcomed 2.24 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Polish president this month signed into law a measure to offer wide-ranging support to Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their country, which began on February 24.
The measure grants them legal residence in Poland and ensures access to education, healthcare and social benefits.
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Source: PAP, president.pl, TVP Info, Reuters