As Russian forces concentrate their fire on cities and trapped residents in a nearly month-old invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has added a visit in Poland to his journey to Europe this week for urgent consultations with NATO and European allies.
Biden will fly to Brussels first, then to Poland to meet with leaders, according to a statement sent by Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, on Sunday night.
In the Ukraine situation, Poland is a critical ally.
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It is hosting thousands of American troops and has taken in more people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine — over 2 million — than any other country in the midst of Europe’s worst refugee crisis in decades.
Biden will head to Warsaw for a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda scheduled for Saturday. Biden will discuss how the U.S., along with its allies and partners, is responding to “the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,” Psaki said.
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Biden will meet with European leaders on Monday, ahead of his travel, to discuss the war.
According to the White House, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom are all slated to attend.
Biden has no plans to visit Ukraine, according to White House officials.
While in Poland earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly went into neighbouring Ukraine to show sympathy with that country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
Poland has been one of the most outspoken in its request for fellow NATO members to consider increasing their involvement in order to reduce the bloodshed.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine largely has united the U.S. and NATO and European allies, as well as allies in Asia and elsewhere. The United States and European governments see Moscow’s military aggression as a threat to their security and strategic interests.
Biden and NATO have said repeatedly that while the U.S. and NATO will provide weapons and other defensive support to non-NATO member Ukraine, they are determined to avoid any escalation on behalf of Kyiv that risks a broader war with Russia.
The Pentagon on March 9 rejected a Polish proposal for providing Ukraine with MiG fighter jets via a NATO air base, saying allied efforts against the Russian invasion should focus on more useful weaponry and that the MiG transfer with a U.S. and NATO connection would run a “high risk” of escalating the war.
(With inputs from agencies)
