Poland's defence minister postpones Pentagon trip

Poland's defence minister has delayed a planned visit to the Pentagon this week, after Washington asked for the meeting to be rescheduled, the defence ministry said on Monday.

Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

PAP/Paweł Supernak

Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz had been due to meet US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on Wednesday. A new date is still being worked out, the ministry said.

The change came "on the urgent request of the American side," the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

It followed last week's NATO Military Committee Conference in Copenhagen, a gathering of defence chiefs from the alliance's 32 member states. Poland was represented there by Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, chief of the General Staff.

"After signals from the American side, and also after the meeting of NATO chiefs of staff, it is now necessary to urgently undertake new actions regarding the security of the alliance's countries," the ministry said.

Do Polski 🇵🇱 dotarła kolejna partia 🇺🇸 czołgów M1A2SEPv3 Abrams. Już wkrótce 35 czołgów trafi na wyposażenie 18. Dywizji Zmechanizowanej. Wzmacniamy zdolności obronne Wojska Polskiego i konsekwentnie modernizujemy Siły Zbrojne RP. Nowoczesny sprzęt, wyszkoleni żołnierze i gotowość do działania to filary bezpieczeństwa Polski.

— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) September 21, 2026

Kosiniak-Kamysz said last Tuesday that his talks with Hegseth were expected to touch on Polish security, including plans for a service centre for PAC-3 missiles used with Patriot air defence systems in Poland.

Despite the postponement, two Polish deputy defence ministers, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka and Paweł Zalewski, will still travel to Washington this week for talks with US officials, state news agency PAP reported.

(jh/gs)

Source: PAP