WARSAW, Sept 12 (Askume) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet senior Polish government officials on Thursday to discuss supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia and deepening U.S. defense cooperation with Warsaw.
Washington’s top diplomat traveled to Kiev on Wednesday to visit NATO ally Poland , where he heard Ukrainian officials seeking permission to launch Western-supplied missiles into Russian territory.
According to his office, Blinken plans to meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President Andrzej Duda and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Two and a half years after the Russian invasion began, Ukrainian forces are under pressure from a better-equipped and larger enemy on the battlefield trying to halt Russian advances in the east, where Moscow has focused its attacks.
Kiev sent troops to Russia’s Kursk region last month in an attempt to regain the initiative and dislodge Russian troops, but progress has stalled.
Mieszko Pawlak, director of the international policy bureau in Duda’s office, said security issues in eastern Poland would also be discussed in discussions with Blinken.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made defence a top priority for the eastern member of the NATO alliance, with Poland also trying to fortify its borders with Belarus and Russia.
Relations between Poland and Russia have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent thousands of troops into neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In response, Warsaw has increased defense spending, which is expected to reach a record PLN 186.6 billion ($47.95 billion) by 2025.
The State Department said on Tuesday that Blinken is also expected to discuss further strengthening energy cooperation during his visit to Warsaw. Blinken said cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, including the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, would be on the agenda.
(1 USD = 3.8919 PLN)
