According to the White House spokeswoman Karine Jean Pierre, US President Joe Biden will visit Poland on 20-22 February. He will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, hold a meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and deliver a speech ahead of the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski stressed on Sunday that Biden was also in Poland last March. 

“Never has a US president been to Poland twice in one year. Also, this is a historic moment and a very clear signal of how important Poland-United States relations are”, noted Brzezinski.

The ambassador conveyed that President Biden will arrive in Poland on 20 February “in the latter part of the day”. As he added, it will be “a visit to only one country”, which, according to him, shows how important Polish-American relations are “just before the anniversary of this terrible war in Ukraine, which the whole world is watching today”.

Brzezinski stressed that the American leader would meet with President Andrzej Duda to discuss bilateral relations, efforts to support Ukraine and strengthen NATO. Biden will also give a speech.

“He will talk about how the United States is ensuring continued support for Ukraine in Europe and around the world. Ukraine, after all, defends freedom and democracy. The United States will continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes”, Brzezinski stressed.

The ambassador noted that Biden will meet with B9 leaders during his visit and “will reaffirm the United States’ unwavering support for the security of this alliance, NATO”.

The B9 is an association of nine Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Its aim is to deepen military cooperation between the countries on NATO’s eastern flank and discuss key security policy issues.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński