A few days before the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, the President of the United States is expected in Poland on February 21 and 22. He wants to address his support to the Ukrainian people. Why did Joe Biden choose Warsaw?
From our correspondent in Warsaw,
It is a very symbolic visit. Already, because Poland is on the border with Ukraine. The risk of going to Kyiv was probably too high to address his message to the Ukrainian people, so it might be better to go to Poland.
And then, Poland still hosts almost a million and a half refugees, most of whom now live in Warsaw. They are also invited to attend Joe Biden’s speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, a highly emblematic place.
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Just like some cities in Ukraine right now, it was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt after. A reconstruction that makes a lot of sense for the American president.
Joe Biden should be welcomed as a star. Giant screens have been installed since this weekend around the castle so that the crowd can follow the message. And we expect to have a lot of people in the streets.
For Poland, this visit is historic, as it is the first time that an American president has visited the country twice in less than a year, after his last visit to month of march 2022.
Poland, an important ally of the United States
The two countries have been collaborating even more closely since the start of the war in Ukraine, within NATO in particular. Warsaw has been struggling to help its neighbor for a year: the government quickly sent modern equipment to Ukraine, which has replaced it with American weapons.
He also lobbied theGermany so that NATO allies have the right to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. By coming here, Joe Biden is also coming to thank Poland for all its efforts.
Further strengthen its position within NATO
Poland has been at the heart of military issues in the region for a year. Between sending equipment or training Ukrainian soldiers in Western weapons, the country has taken on another dimension within the Alliance.
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And to embody this place, Joe Biden will discuss with the Bucharest group, which brings together the nine countries on the eastern flank of NATO in Warsaw. They will discuss the strategy and behavior to adopt in the conflict for these countries which for the most part have borders with Russia or Ukraine and of which Poland is obviously a part.
Warsaw expects allied troops, and in particular American ones, to be permanently installed on its soil.
Furthermore, some observers have hypothesized that Volodymyr Zelensky could join Joe Biden for his message. The Ukrainian president could take advantage of his European tour last week to make a stopover in Poland before returning to Ukraine.
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