President Donald Trump hosted new Polish president Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday at the White House with a military flyover and an offer to send more US troops.
Talks were expected to focus on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, where Trump’s peace-making efforts have been struggling to get traction.
Trump called it a “stupid war” and said he thought ending it would have been “much easier” for him.
“It’s going to get done,” he vowed to reporters in the Oval Office, with Nawrocki at his side.
Nawrocki, a nationalist historian and fervent Trump supporter, was in Washington for his first foreign visit as president after having visited the US leader to seek his backing during the Polish election campaign.
Trump gave him a warm welcome, including an offer to boost the US military footprint in Poland.
“We’ll put more there if they want,” he said in the Oval Office. “We’re with Poland all the way and we’ll help Poland protect itself.”
Nawrocki praised the US troop presence and said it was “the first time in history” that Poland had been happy to host foreign troops, while stressing that Warsaw aims to keep increasing its own military spending within the NATO alliance.
While Trump and Nawrocki see eye-to-eye politically, Poland is closely watching the US leader’s peace efforts in neighbouring Ukraine, which Warsaw has largely been frozen out of.
Ukraine war rages on
Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion and is a vital transit country for military and humanitarian supplies, as well as host to thousands of US troops.
Trump’s efforts to get Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the negotiating table have so far stalled.
Putin vowed during a visit to Beijing on Wednesday to keep fighting in Ukraine if a peace deal cannot be reached, while Zelenskyy said he hoped to talk to Trump on Thursday about possible additional sanctions against Russia.
Nawrocki will also seek fresh support from Trump amid deep political polarisation in Poland between himself and the government, led by former European Council chief Donald Tusk.
The novice Polish president recently blocked a law extending Ukrainian refugees’ rights proposed by Tusk’s government. Nawrocki has also, like Trump, opposed Ukraine’s desire for NATO membership.
The visit is nevertheless a chance for Trump to celebrate the election of yet another right-wing ally in Europe.
Trump welcomed Nawrocki to the Oval Office in June before the Polish election, with the White House posting a picture of the pair grinning and giving the thumbs-up sign.
During the election campaign, Nawrocki highlighted the importance of ties with the United States and his close ties with Trump. His “Poland First, Poles First” echoed Trump’s “America First” slogan.
(cp)
