Biden to visit Poland on Europe trip this week

Gulf Today Report

US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland on Friday to meet with President Andrzej Duda for discussions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House said on Sunday.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "The President will discuss how the United States, alongside our Allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia's unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created".

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Biden will travel to Warsaw where he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda, the White House said. Over 2 million refugees have entered Poland from Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, the Polish border guard said on Friday.

Biden's Poland trip will come a day after he meets in Brussels with NATO Allies, G7 Leaders and European Union Leaders to discuss international efforts to support Ukraine after Russia's invasion, the White House said.

Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of NATO headquarters in Brussels. File/Reuters

"The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin's invasion of Ukraine," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of Biden's trip to Europe.

The White House also said Biden will host a call Monday at 11 a.m. EST with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom to discuss their coordinated responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

US Vice President Kamala Harris also met with Duda in Warsaw earlier this month, with both condemning Russia's military action, especially against civilians.

US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a press conference. File photo

That meeting came shortly after the United States rejected a Polish offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US air base -- an offer which caught US officials off guard -- saying the proposal raised "serious concerns" for the entire NATO alliance.

The United Nations has estimated around 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, with roughly one-third of them going abroad, mostly to Poland.