Duda’s trip to Washington would come as the United States plans a controversial drawdown of troops in Germany, Politico reported on its website.
It cited US and Polish officials it did not name as saying that Trump’s aides were in talks to host the Polish president at the White House after a pause in visits by foreign leaders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a Trump administration official, the Polish leader could visit as early as next week, though another US official said only that a visit by Duda was expected “soon,” Politico reported.
A visit by Poland’s Duda, if finalised, is likely to coincide with Trump’s plans to announce an increase in the number of US troops stationed in Poland, according to the politico.com website.
The website said it was unclear what kind of precautionary measures would be taken amid the COVID-19 pandemic if Duda stopped by the White House.
The Polish visit would take place as Trump plans to cut US troop numbers in Germany by more than 9,000 while increasing the US troop presence in Poland, Politico reported.
Public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency on Wednesday cited a Polish presidential aide as saying that such a visit was "not ruled out," but added that “the invitation must be officially announced by the White House.”
Private radio broadcaster RMF FM said it had learned unofficially at the Polish presidential palace that the visit was likely to take place before Poland’s presidential election, which is scheduled for June 28 and in which Duda is seeking another five years in office.
A senior aide to the Polish president last week slammed what he described as “disinformation” in a Reuters report which said that plans for a military base referred to as “Fort Trump” in Poland have crumbled amid disputes over how to fund the deployment and where to garrison the American troops.
The US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher dismissed that article as “fake news.”
She tweeted: “More fake news! Negotiations are on track! President Trump … and President Duda's vision for increased US presence in Poland will be even greater than originally outlined. Announcement coming soon.”
Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that an increasing US military presence in Poland “is a fact.”
He wrote on Twitter: “Now we are agreeing the final details and the talks are taking place in a good atmosphere.”
Amid fears of Russian aggression, the authorities in Warsaw have been making intense efforts to secure boosted US troop numbers in Poland, which lies on the eastern flank of NATO.
Following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, NATO decided at a Warsaw summit in July 2016 to deploy four rotating multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states.
During a meeting at the White House in June last year, Duda and Trump announced a deal on a stepped-up American military presence in Poland while also sealing a raft of economic agreements.
The two presidents in September signed a defence agreement to name locations for more American troops in Poland.
Poland and the United States agreed to bolster defence ties and pledged to step up cooperation on energy projects when Duda and Trump met at the White House in September 2018.
(gs/pk)
Source: politico.com, IAR, rmf24.pl