English Section

UPDATE: West united in support of Ukraine, Polish president says

11.02.2022 22:30
The West stands united and in solidarity with Ukraine amid a looming threat of Russian aggression, Poland's president said after a video call on Friday with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Romania as well as the heads of NATO and the European Union.
Polands President Andrzej Duda briefs reporters after an online meeting on Friday with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Romania as well as heads of NATO and the European Union.
Poland's President Andrzej Duda briefs reporters after an online meeting on Friday with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Romania as well as heads of NATO and the European Union.Photo: PAP/Łukasz Gągulski

"Russia's actions have led to the kind of unity in the West that we have not seen in a long time, while also leading to an outbreak of patriotic attitudes in Ukraine," Andrzej Duda told reporters after the online meeting, amid a standoff between Russia and the West over Kyiv's NATO ambitions.

"All the leaders spoke with one voice: Ukraine needs to be supported," the Polish president added.

Duda said the meeting with Biden focused on "the problem of Russian aggression against Ukraine."

He added: "We discussed possible scenarios of how events may develop. There is unity among Western leaders and a sense that we need to stand together in solidarity with Ukraine."

He also told reporters that while "no declaration has been made to send troops to Ukraine, there is a readiness to send defence equipment."

'One must not make concessions to Russia'

"One must not make concessions to Russia," Duda warned, voicing satisfaction that "NATO is behaving responsibly: it is not retreating, but strengthening its posture in Central Europe."

"We need to talk to Russia, conduct dialogue and seek solutions, but not through concessions that would limit sovereignty and weaken NATO," the president also said.

He further remarked that "NATO is ready and strong by being united" and that Western allies "are going together and have a common idea on how to resolve the crisis," according to a tweet from his office.

'Defensive posture on NATO’s eastern flank': White House

Meanwhile, the White House said in a statement that Biden "held a secure video call with transatlantic leaders" and those taking part "expressed their concern about Russia’s continued build-up of military forces around Ukraine and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."

According to the statement, the leaders "expressed their desire for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, and discussed recent engagements with Russia in multiple formats."

They "agreed on the importance of coordinated efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine, including their readiness to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia should it choose military escalation, and to continue reinforcing the defensive posture on NATO’s eastern flank," the White House said in its statement.

"They committed to continued close consultation, including working with and through NATO, the EU, the OSCE, and the UN," it added.

The White House also said that participants in the call included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in addition to Poland's Duda.

US to send 3,000 extra troops to Poland: Reuters

The Reuters news agency cited four US officials it did not name as saying on Friday that the Biden administration would send 3,000 additional troops to Poland in the coming days to reassure NATO allies amid concerns over joint Russian and Belarusian military exercises near the alliance's eastern border and separate Russian drills in the Black Sea.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the US troop deployment would come from the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and not from within US forces in Europe, Reuters reported.

They are expected to be in Poland by next week after the deployment order was signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the direction of Biden, according to Reuters.

In recent days, multiple planes carrying US troops and army equipment have landed in Poland as part of efforts to bolster NATO's eastern flank and reinforce allies in Eastern Europe amid a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet carrying a group of US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division lands at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on Sunday. A Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet carrying a group of US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division lands at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on Sunday, February 6. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

The Pentagon announced at the start of this month that the United States would send 1,700 extra troops to Poland and around 1,000 to Romania to reassure its Eastern European NATO allies in the face of a major Russian military buildup near Ukraine's border.

'Very troubling signs of Russian escalation': Blinken

Washington warned on Friday that Russia was massing yet more troops near Ukraine and that an invasion could come at any time, perhaps before the end of this month's Winter Olympics, according to Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the media that there "very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border."

He said: "We're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics."

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games end on February 20.

Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and then fomented a separatist conflict in that country's eastern Donbas region, leading to a wave of EU and US sanctions against Moscow and Russian officials.

(gs)

Source: PAP, Reuters