During a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, 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.
Biden's declaration came as Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the White House on Tuesday for security talks with the US president and other administration officials.
Biden, Duda and Tusk met at the White House to take stock of the security situation and what recent Russian territorial gains in Ukraine might mean for the region, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
The meeting was held as concerns grow in Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be tempted to attack other countries if he succeeds in his invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.
Polish president urges NATO allies to spend 3% of GDP on defence
The Polish president told Biden at the White House that NATO allies should consider increasing their defence spending from 2 percent of GDP to 3 percent "in response to the full–scale war, launched by Russia right beyond NATO’s eastern border."
Duda said: "Russia's aggression against Ukraine clearly demonstrated that the United States is and should remain the security leader. But other Allies must take more responsibility for the security of the Alliance as a whole."
"We Poles believe in America," Duda told Biden. "We believe that Poland and Europe need more America. Militarily, politically and economically. More American spirit in thinking and acting."
'No safe Europe without a strong Poland, no just Europe without a free Ukraine': Polish PM
The Polish prime minister said during the meeting that "there can be no safe Europe without a strong Poland and there can be no just Europe without a free and independent Ukraine."
'The unity of views was impressive'
After the meeting, Tusk told reporters: "The unity of views was impressive. We had common ground with President Joe Biden and the US side on every single issue of our conversation."
Before the meeting, Tusk said in an interview that NATO needed to strengthen its capabilities on the alliance's eastern flank to deter Russia.
"NATO must accept that if not today, then tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, NATO's operational capabilities on its eastern flank must be greater," Tusk told Polish private broadcaster TVN24 in an interview.
"A strong, equipped Poland, supported by allies, is not only a matter of our security, but the security of the entire West," he added.
"We are here to reaffirm that Poland is and will be a solid and lasting part of the trans-Atlantic community no matter who wins the election in our country," Tusk also said.
US, Poland 'proudly stand with Ukraine': Biden
Biden, celebrating Poland's 25 years as a NATO member, reiterated US support for NATO's Article 5 mutual defense treaty, under which an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all, Reuters reported. He said American support for Poland was "ironclad."
Biden said in an X post that he and the Polish leaders "again made clear that the United States and Poland proudly stand with Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of conquest."
During his meeting with the Polish leaders, Biden urged the US Congress to approve USD 60 billion in security assistance for Ukraine. The Senate passed the bill last month in a bipartisan vote, but Republican hardliners in the House of Representatives have stalled it, according to Reuters.
"We must act before it literally is too late because, as Poland remembers, Russia won't stop at Ukraine," Biden said in his opening remarks.
"Putin will keep going, putting Europe and the United States and the entire free world at risk, in my view," he added.
During the talks, Biden, Duda and Tusk reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion, reporters were told.
The three also discussed Polish-US energy cooperation and preparations for NATO's upcoming summit in Washington, the PAP news agency reported.
'Historic visit': White House
In a statement issued after the talks, the White House said that the "historic visit" by Duda and Tusk to Washington marked the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO and underscored "our two nations’ ironclad commitment to the NATO Alliance, which makes us all safer."
The statement added that "the leaders committed to ensuring continued support of Ukraine’s self-defense against Russia’s war of aggression. They also discussed the strong US-Polish energy security partnership and the enduring importance of democratic values."
US offers $2 bn loan to Poland, agrees to sell 96 Apache attack helicopters
Ahead of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the United States would announce a USD 2 billion loan for Poland and offer to sell 96 Apache attack helicopters to the country.
The White House said in its statement that Biden at the meeting "shared the United States will move forward with a new $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan to Poland to bolster its security and support its defense modernization using previously appropriated congressional funds. This loan will enable Poland’s purchase of additional U.S. defense equipment, further supporting U.S. jobs and our deepening security relationship."
Biden "also shared that the United States will offer to sell Poland 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters. This is a major step to provide Poland’s armed forces with cutting-edge capability to defend itself, strengthen NATO interoperability, and further bolster the U.S. defense industry," according to the statement.
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.
Ahead of his trip to Washington, Duda said he would embark on a diplomatic offensive to persuade 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, which 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 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 was day 748 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, VOA, whitehouse.gov, president.pl