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Polish presidential aide in Washington discusses Ukraine war, Biden trip to Poland

03.02.2023 23:00
A Polish presidential aide said in Washington on Friday that he was holding talks with American officials about Russia's war against Ukraine and US President Joe Biden's planned visit to Poland.
Marcin Przydacz
Marcin PrzydaczJedynka/Wojciech Kusiński

Przydacz, who is a top foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, told reporters that his talks in the US capital included "the subject of the expected visit to Poland by US President Joe Biden."

The main focus of Friday's meetings was "support for Ukraine" and the security of the eastern flank of NATO, Przydacz added.

He told a news briefing that "the details of President Joe Biden's trip to Poland will be disclosed when the date is set and preparations begin," public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

"President Joe Biden has said he wants to come to Poland and, of course, he will make the visit," Przydacz also said.

"It is now only a matter of how we work together in the near future to plan this trip in the best possible way," he added.

While in Washington on Friday, Przydacz, who heads the Polish president's International Policy Bureau, held consultations at the US National Security Council, the Department of State and the Pentagon, the IAR news agency reported.

He was being accompanied on his trip by the head of the Polish president's National Security Bureau (BBN), Jacek Siewiera, according to the Polish embassy in Washington.

Ahead of his trip to Washington, Przydacz told Polish broadcaster TVP Info that he would meet with US officials to explore "possible scenarios for the development of the situation" in Ukraine.

"The United States is the leader of the Euro-Atlantic world and our most important ally," Przydacz said at the time.

"The intensity of our contacts must be maintained," he added.

Biden told the media on Monday that he would visit Poland but did not know when, after news reports suggested he was considering a trip to Europe to coincide with the February 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I’m going to be going to Poland; I don’t know when, though,” Biden said on Monday, responding to a question from Polish Radio’s Washington correspondent Marek Wałkuski.

A White House official told Wałkuski on Tuesday that Biden's possible trip to Poland may not coincide with the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if the trip happened further down the road," the official said.

Friday was day 345 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: IAR