Polish President Andrzej Duda is expected to lobby President Biden during his visit to Warsaw to increase the number of permanent US troops in nations along Russia’s borders, a senior US diplomat told Fox News Digital.
Biden’s visit comes after Monday’s surprise trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Zelenskyy. All of this is happening just days before the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, and Poland is seeking a little recognition for the role it has played in helping Ukraine.
“I think one of the purposes of President Biden’s visit to Poland is actually to… emphasize the support, the US support for Poland,” said Adrian Kubicki, Poland’s consul general in New York. “[It] It’s also important that President Biden listen to what we have to say in terms of how to improve our security.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda and President Biden inspect the Polish guard at the Presidential Palace March 26, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)
PRESIDENT BIDEN MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO KYIV, UKRAINE, MEETS PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY
Poland has been a major supplier of defensive and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, alongside the United States, since the beginning of the war.
Warsaw has not only welcomed the largest number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war-torn nation, it has also spearheaded NATO negotiations to push for new and faster deliveries of equipment to Ukraine, including tanks at the start of this war. ‘year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Biden shake hands during their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine February 20, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Nearly a dozen nations have promised tanks for Kiev, and Poland is now working with allied nations to see if warplanes could be next on the defensive aid itinerary.
However, Kubicki stressed that Poland, as well as all the Baltic nations neighboring Russia and Ukraine, are under threat from Russian aggression.
“We would like to see an increased presence, a permanent presence, of US troops at the very doorstep of the ongoing war, which is Poland,” he said. “US troops should be permanently present in our countries given the situation…and what could potentially happen in the future if Russia, God forbid, succeeds in Ukraine.”
A supporter welcomes U.S. soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army at the Czech-Polish border March 29, 2015 in Harrachov, Czech Republic. Polish President Duda is expected to push President Biden to increase permanent US troop numbers in nations bordering Ukraine and Russia. (Photo by Matej Divizna/Getty Images)
RUSSIAN PLOT TO ‘DESTROY’ EUROPEAN COUNTRY CLASHED BY UKRAINE
Russia has threatened to push its aggression beyond Ukraine’s borders since the start of the war, setting its sights on Moldova, which lies west of Ukraine and where a contingent of Russian sympathizers remain in an area known as Transnistria .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Kiev had thwarted a Russian plot to overthrow the Moldovan government – a claim confirmed by the Moldovan government – which has rekindled concerns about Moscow’s overall aggression towards the Europe.
Kubicki said Poland believes Russia is incapable of overthrowing Kiev as Russian President Vladimir Putin originally intended, or of invading another European nation. However, he warned that Moscow is playing long.
Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division listen to instructions before deploying to Poland February 14, 2022 at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
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“Putin has time,” he said. “We know for the long term – Poland has actually learned the hard way throughout our history – that this ambition…[is] still valid. It doesn’t have to happen immediately.
“If we don’t put a full stop [to] this outrageous invasion of Ukraine, we are 100% sure that Putin will eventually try to invade other countries,” Kubicki warned.
