Blinken met Polish officials in the city of Rzeszów, near the Polish - Ukrainian border, which over the last few days was crossed by thousands of refugees fleeing from the country, invaded by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The State Secretary was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that "Poland is doing vital work to respond to this crisis... It has done a great deal to facilitate security assistance to Ukraine.”
During a joint press conference with Blinken, Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said referring to Putin’s actions in Ukraine that “Poland will consequently demand prosecuting war criminals,” Reuters also reported.
After his meeting with Blinken, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that while Poland is already hosting “over 10,000 US troops,” the government seeks to further boost US military presence in the country.
“We also need proper military equipment… to be able to protect our sky, to be even more secure,” Morawiecki said.
Blinken’s visit to Poland is part of a series of meetings with European leaders including in Belgium, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia from March 3 to 8.
The trip "continues extensive consultations and coordination with our NATO Allies and European partners about the Russian Federation’s continued premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war against Ukraine," the US State Department’s statement said, ahead of Blinken's visit.
The US State Secretary began his trip in Brussels, Belgium, where he participated in a NATO Foreign Ministerial, and a G7 Ministerial Meeting, and discussed “Allies’ and partners’ continued coordination on imposing massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia."
During his visit to Moldova, Lithuania and Latvia, Blinken is to "discuss joint efforts to support Ukraine, strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense, promote democracy and human rights, and pursue deeper economic and energy cooperation with our Baltic Allies," the US Department of State said.
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Source: PAP, Reuters