During a meeting at the White House, Biden praised his country's relationship with Poland, reiterating that Warsaw was a critical NATO ally for Washington as Moscow waged war against Kyiv, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived at the White House on Tuesday for security talks with Biden and other administration officials.
During the talks, Biden, Duda and Tusk were expected to "reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s brutal war of conquest," according to officials.
The three were also expected to "coordinate ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington" and "discuss the strong U.S.-Polish strategic energy security partnership, its robust economic relationship, and the United States’ and Poland’s shared commitment to democratic values," according to a statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
During his meeting with the Polish president and prime minister, Biden was expected to announce a USD 2 billion loan for Poland and offer to sell 96 Apache attack helicopters to the country, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said.
At the start of the meeting, Biden said that the latest package of Ukraine assistance announced by the United States was not enough, the Reuters news agency reported.
The Biden administration said earlier on Tuesday it would send a new military aid package for Ukraine worth USD 300 million, the first such move in months as additional funds for Kyiv remain blocked by Republican leaders in Congress, according to Reuters.
Tuesday's White House meeting coincided with the 25th anniversary of Poland joining NATO.
Ahead of his trip to Washington, Duda urged fellow alliance members to boost defence spending to 3 percent of GDP in response to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
Warsaw is also looking to increase US troop presence at NATO's eastern flank, according to reports.
Biden told reporters on Monday that there was “no need for more troops at the Polish border,” but said he would discuss the matter with the Polish leaders, the Voice of America reported.
Before the White House meeting, Duda on Tuesday met with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to push for passage of the Senate-approved foreign aid package that includes USD 60 billion for Ukraine.
Democrats and the White House are convinced the measure has the votes to pass in the House of Representatives, but Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring it to the floor for a vote, according to the VOA.
The Polish president has said that his and Tusk's joint visit to Washington on the anniversary of Poland’s NATO accession "shows that the Polish-US alliance is and will remain strong, no matter who is in power in both countries."
Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk has said that the joint visit by the Polish president and prime minister to Washington shows that all major political forces in Poland "share the same opinion about Russia and Ukraine."
Poland became a member of NATO on March 12, 1999.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 748 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, VOA, whitehouse.gov
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Marcin Matuszewski.