{"id":21746,"date":"2024-03-14T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=21746"},"modified":"2024-03-13T23:48:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T21:48:17","slug":"polands-prime-minister-and-president-visit-us-urge-nato-allies-to-increase-defense-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/polands-prime-minister-and-president-visit-us-urge-nato-allies-to-increase-defense-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland\u2019s Prime Minister and President visit US, urge NATO allies to increase defense spending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Poland\u2019s President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Washington on March 13, 2024, to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and mark the 25th anniversary of Warsaw\u2019s accession into the NATO alliance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the first time in a quarter-century that a Polish president and prime minister have visited Washington at the same time. The visit from the Polish leadership comes at a time when U.S. President Biden is pressing to overcome Republican hardliners in Congress who are stalling the aid package for Ukraine&#8217;s weaponry and aid to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the meeting at the White House, President Biden called the U.S. commitment to Poland ironclad marveled at Poland\u2019s current defense spending, and thanked the leaders for taking in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees after Russia launched the February 2022 invasion. But he did not directly address Duda\u2019s call for NATO members to ramp up spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"pl\" dir=\"ltr\">Prezydent <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndrzejDuda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AndrzejDuda<\/a> w <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WhiteHouse<\/a>: Nie ma lepszego miejsca, by \u015bwi\u0119towa\u0107 t\u0105 wyj\u0105tkow\u0105 rocznic\u0119 ni\u017c Bia\u0142y Dom. To dzi\u0119ki odwa\u017cnym decyzjom, jakie w\u0142a\u015bnie tutaj &#8211; w stolicy Stan\u00f3w Zjednoczonych &#8211; podejmowali wsp\u00f3lnie, zar\u00f3wno Demokraci, jak i Republikanie, NATO rozszerzy\u0142o si\u0119\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7jnDWGdLyn\">pic.twitter.com\/7jnDWGdLyn<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Kancelaria Prezydenta (@prezydentpl) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/prezydentpl\/status\/1767649113397477519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 12, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we stand together, no force on earth is more powerful,\u201d Biden said, recalling the words of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright upon Poland\u2019s accession into the alliance. \u201cI believed that then and I believe that now. And we see it with Polish and American troops serving side by side with NATO on the eastern flank, including in Poland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The visit from the Polish leadership comes at a time when U.S. President Biden is pressing to overcome Republican hardliners in Congress who are stalling the aid package for Ukraine&#8217;s weaponry and aid to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A White House statement released after the meeting between the Polish and the U.S. said that the United States provide a new $2 billion&nbsp;Foreign&nbsp;Military&nbsp;Financing (FMF)&nbsp;direct loan&nbsp;to Poland, to bolster its security and defense&nbsp;modernization&nbsp;campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The loan would enable Poland to purchase more U.S.-made defense equipment,&nbsp;the statement added. Biden also noted that&nbsp;the United States will sell 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters to Poland.&nbsp; \u201cThis is a major step to provide Poland\u2019s armed forces with cutting-edge capability to defend itself, strengthen NATO&nbsp;interoperability, and further bolster the U.S. defense industry,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Meeting with US lawmakers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their stay in Washington, Duda and Tusk also met with U.S. lawmakers separately at Capitol Hill, asking them to pass a new package delivering military aid to Kyiv and break the standoff between Congress&#8217;s two parties.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"909\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?resize=1016%2C909&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"U.S. President Joe Biden and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk\" class=\"wp-image-21754\" style=\"width:839px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?resize=1024%2C916&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?resize=300%2C268&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?resize=768%2C687&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-Biden-Poland-Tusk.jpg?w=1230&amp;ssl=1 1230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>U.S. President Joe Biden and Poland&#8217;s Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Washington D.C., US. (Image Credit: Twitter\/@donaldtusk)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cFinancial support for Ukraine is cheap if you take into account what other forms of support would be needed if it comes to war and an attack on NATO countries,\u201d Duda said during his meeting with the delegation of U.S. lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tusk called on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass Ukraine funding, warning him that inaction could \u201ccost thousands of human lives in Ukraine.\u201d He said, \u201cThis is not some political skirmish that has significance only here, on the American political stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking before the talks, Polish Foreign Minister Radislaw Sikorski also urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on the Ukraine funds but toned down an earlier&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/west-must-help-ukraine-more-prevent-spillover-polish-fm-says-2024-02-26\/\">plea<\/a>&nbsp;in which he said Johnson would be blamed if the bill failed and Russian troops advanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan package that includes $60 billion&nbsp;in Ukraine funding, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is refusing to bring it to the floor for a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If the American package doesn&#8217;t arrive, Ukraine might be in difficulty, and that might eventually mean the need for more American troops in Europe,&#8221; Sikorski told reporters ahead of the visit. He also appealed to Johnson&#8217;s Baptist faith, saying that Russia &#8220;persecutes religious minorities, including Baptists&#8221; in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">During my meeting today with President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk, we again made clear that the United States and Poland proudly stand with Ukraine in the face of Russia\u2019s brutal war of conquest. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kCLYRKe7ZF\">pic.twitter.com\/kCLYRKe7ZF<\/a><\/p>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS\/status\/1767709667600257402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 13, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Appeal to increase defense NATO defense spending<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Polish President also set the stage for his appeal to increase military aid for Ukraine ahead of his visit to the U.S. In an article written in the Washington Post, Poland&#8217;s President Andrzej Duda urged NATO members to increase their defense spending to 3% of their GDP, emphasizing that the alliance needs to step up efforts to counterbalance Russia&#8217;s escalating military expenditures amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe war in Ukraine has clearly shown that the United States is and should remain the leader in security issues in Europe and the world,\u201d Duda said in an address one day ahead of his visit to Washington. \u201cHowever, other NATO countries must also take greater responsibility for the security of the entire alliance and intensively modernize and strengthen their troops,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden administration officials, however, suggested ahead of the meeting that Duda\u2019s call to raise the defense spending target for NATO countries may be, at least for the time being, overly ambitious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think the first step is to get every country meeting the 2% threshold, and we\u2019ve seen improvement of that,\u201d State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. \u201cBut I think that\u2019s the first step before we start talking about an additional proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Ukraine-Poland-leaders-meeting.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Ukraine-Poland-leaders-meeting.jpg?resize=690%2C370&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"President of Poland Duda with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy\" class=\"wp-image-17919\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Ukraine-Poland-leaders-meeting.jpg?w=690&amp;ssl=1 690w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Ukraine-Poland-leaders-meeting.jpg?resize=300%2C161&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>President of Poland Andrzej Duda with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Image Credit: Ukrainska Pravda)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poland\u2019s President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Washington on March 13, 2024, to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and mark the 25th anniversary of Warsaw\u2019s accession into the NATO alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[62,1,125],"tags":[75,6,357,295,59,54,20,113,7,63],"class_list":["post-21746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","category-united-states","tag-conflict","tag-defense","tag-europe","tag-helicopter","tag-nato","tag-poland","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-u-s","tag-weapons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/US-President-Biden-Poland-President-Duda-PM-Tusk.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-5EK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21746"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21765,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21746\/revisions\/21765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}