“I would like Prime Minister Donald Tusk to strongly advocate maintaining the best possible relations with the United States in all areas. However, we must not forget that Prime Minister Donald Tusk often pursues his own agenda, and we know that his ambitions are focused on Brussels,” says former presidential minister, PiS MP Marcin in an interview with wPolityce.pl about the upcoming visit to Washington of the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.
wPolityce.pl: US President Joe Biden will receive President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a joint meeting on March 12. How do you assess the importance of this visit?
Marcin Przydacz: This will be an important visit not only because of the upcoming anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO. 25 years have passed since 1999. This is a period that shows how much not only Poland has changed, but also how much Poland’s alliance with the United States has changed and tightened during that time. Poland’s role – also in the context of events east of our border: aggressive Russian and Belarusian policies, hybrid actions and, finally, open, large-scale aggression against Ukraine – has increased significantly. For many Western allies, including the United States, the fact that they have such an ally on the eastern flank of NATO, which is the cornerstone of this entire region of Central and Eastern Europe, is of great importance.
I consider this visit of the President, who will also be accompanied by the Prime Minister, not only as a kind of positive diplomatic step, but also as an important event that summarizes Polish-American relations and highlights Poland’s growing role.
The main topic of conversation in the White House will be security.
The anniversary mentioned is a good opportunity for this, but not only that. There are many challenges ahead of us. I am also convinced that both the President and the Prime Minister will try to convince the American political class to continue its tough policy towards Russia, that is, the policy of sanctions and military support for Ukraine, which is fighting against Russian imperialism .
Ahead of the March meeting, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby praised Poland as an extremely solid, reliable ally that can be relied on. It is worth – because of the arrival in the USA of both the President and the Prime Minister of the formation that returns to power after eight years – to at least recall the past years – to whom did Poland give this opinion to thank?
I think the intensity of Polish-American relations in recent years is visible to the naked eye. The current visit is the next meeting between President Duda and President Biden in the past two years, during the rule of law and justice. Let’s not forget that President Biden was in Poland in February and March 2023. There were many such American meetings and visits during the Law and Justice government and the presidency of Andrzej Duda. In recent years, we have maintained good relations both with the Democrats currently ruling the White House, that is, President Biden, and with the Republicans. It is very important that Poland maintains the best possible relations with both political environments in the United States. President Andrzej Duda has and will continue to pursue such a policy, which cannot be said about Prime Minister Tusk.
READ MORE: Kirby praises Poland. Important words were said: He is an extremely solid, reliable ally that you can rely on
Let us remember Tusk’s recent public scolding of Republican US senators, about whom he lectured and said he should be ashamed of himself for rejecting the bill on aid to Ukraine.
It was an unnecessary insolence that Republicans will surely remember. No one likes to be lectured in public. It certainly did not contribute to the well-being of Polish-American relations. I think that Mr. President understands the matter much better and has a much better awareness of Polish interests than Donald Tusk, who with his tweets rather builds up his individual position vis-à-vis Western European partners, by sending them a signal: look my German or French colleagues, I will be there too – yes, just like you – he was critical of the American Republicans. Meanwhile, relations with the US have a completely different meaning for the French or Germans than for Poland: the country on NATO’s eastern flank, bordering the war zone. I think Donald Tusk’s diplomatic mistake will haunt him for a long time.
READ MORE:
– Tusk, on vacation, scolds Republican US senators: “Reagan (…) must be rolling in his grave today. Shame”
— Marcin Mastalerek: Donald Tusk has insulted half of the American political scene. These are irresponsible words and he should never have done it
Can we expect a joint vote from the president and the prime minister on Polish issues in the White House, for example regarding support for military aid to Ukraine? Or will we have another ‘seating dispute’?
A coherent voice from Poland is in our interest. President Andrzej Duda has repeatedly pointed out after the autumn elections that the security sphere must somehow be excluded from the current political dispute in Poland. He invited talks with the Presidential Palace on this issue many times, and talks were held many times with the new Ministry of National Defense, headed by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. As for President Andrzej Duda’s approach, I have no doubt that the interest of the Polish state will be his absolute compass. As for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, I am not 100% sure, because he often puts his individual interests or the political interests of his political party above the interests of the Polish state. It would be very good if Prime Minister Donald Tusk could behave decently during this visit. We will soon know what it will be like.
Safety is not the only topic. The White House statement said the meeting would also discuss “a strong U.S.-Polish strategic partnership on energy security, solid economic relations, and the United States and Poland’s shared commitment to democratic values.” Meanwhile, we hear that the December 13 coalition, among other things, is delaying the introduction of nuclear energy in Poland.
Today, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has a very important position in the country, he is the head of the government and has influence on many issues, both in international and security policy, as well as on economic issues. Over the past eight years, Polish-American relations have also strengthened economically. Suffice it to say about American investments, for example in the field of IT, highly advanced technologies and nuclear energy. An attempt to undermine these achievements of recent years in Polish-American economic relations could also have a negative impact on relations in other areas.
I would like Prime Minister Donald Tusk to strongly advocate maintaining the best possible relations in every area with the strongest country in the world, a world power like the United States. However, we must not forget that Prime Minister Donald Tusk – as we have already said – has often carried out and continues to carry out his own agenda so far. We know that his ambitions are focused on Brussels, for his further, future European career. To achieve this, it needs the support of European partners, especially the Germans, the French and other countries. And it sends signals to them, sometimes calling into question future Polish-American relations. However, it is undoubtedly in our interest to preserve it as best we can, regardless of who is in power in Washington. It is not the Poles who decide who governs in Washington, but the Americans.
READ ALSO:
– There will be a meeting between Joe Biden and President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk. We know what the talks in Washington will be about
— President Duda appeals to Tusk and the government regarding the nuclear issue: let’s start construction of the power plant as soon as possible. “Let’s Be Serious”
Source: wPolityce