“Strengthening the ties between Poland and the United States is a fundamental element of Poland’s foreign policy,” President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda stated in an interview with Malaysia’s Astro Awani television network.
At the beginning of June, the Presidential Couple paid an official visit to Malaysia. Yesterday, excerpts from President Duda’s interview with the Malaysian broadcaster were published on the website of the Presidential Chancellery.
The President on Poland–U.S. Relations
The Polish head of state spoke, among other things, about relations with the United States, pointing to the shared values that, in his view, unite Poland and the USA—chiefly the pursuit of security and peace in Europe. According to President Duda, strengthening ties between Poland and the United States is “a fundamental element of Poland’s foreign policy.”
He justified closer cooperation with the United States in terms of both economic and security policy:
“Hence the U.S. presence in Poland, hence American soldiers on Polish soil, hence U.S. military infrastructure here, and hence the American contracts we are implementing,” he explained.
He continued:
“If we add to this President Donald Trump’s policy aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, I can confidently say: yes, we are cooperating with the United States, believing that the USA above all wants to maintain peace in Europe—and that is what matters to us most.”
In the conversation with the Malaysian channel, the President also emphasized that “Poles are a very ambitious nation,” and that since the Iron Curtain fell and Poles broke free from Soviet domination, Poland has been steadily developing as a sovereign state with a market economy.
Poland and Assistance to Ukraine
President Duda also recalled that, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland took in millions of refugees from that country and provided substantial financial and military aid— “enormous in view of our capabilities,” as he put it. “In total, we have provided Ukraine with assistance amounting to more than 4 billion dollars,” he added.
“Today, Poland is the main conduit for all aid flowing to Ukraine from the United States and most countries around the world,” he noted.