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Your guide to what US elections in 2024 mean for Washington and the world
The Polish President called on the US to transfer nuclear weapons to Polish territory as a discouraging means against future Russian aggression, which is probably perceived as highly provocative in Moscow.
Andrzej Duda said it was “obvious” that President Donald Trump could move US nuclear warheads stored in Western Europe or the US to Poland, a proposal that the Polish leader recently discussed with Keith Kellogg, an American special ambassador for Ukraine.
“The border of NATO moved to the east in 1999, so 26 years later, NATO infrastructure should be shifted to the east. It is obvious for me, ”said Duda in an interview with the Financial Times. “I think it's not just that time has come, but it would be safer if these weapons were already.”
Duda hopes to revive the nuclear sharing project, which unsuccessfully presented to the former President Joe Biden administration in 2022.
Duda said it was up to Trump to decide where to deploy US nuclear weapons, but remembered the announcement of President Vladimir Putin in 2023 that Russia would move tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, an ally in his invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia did not hesitate to move their nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Duda said. “They did not need anyone permission.”
Calling bagpipes to host nuclear weapons underlines growing anxiety Poland – shared with other countries in its region – about Russia, which appeared reinforced from peace negotiations with Ukraine mediated by Trump.
Duda, who is also the highest commander of the Polish armed forces, reflected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and said that the country could alternatively gain better protection against the idea of President Emmanuel Macron to expand the French “nuclear umbrella” to cover European allies.
Last week, Duda poured cold water on Tuska's suggestion that Poland could develop its own nuclear arsenal. “To have our own nuclear ability, I think it would take decades,” the president said.
Duda also said that he could not imagine Trump, who is charged with a commitment that he had given last month to maintenance of American soldiers in Poland.
“The US concerns that have taken back their military presence from Poland are not justified. We are a credible ally for the US and also have their own strategic interests here, ”he said.
The Polish President also said that Trump did not consider Moscow to force Kiev to stop fighting.
“This is not delicate diplomacy, it is a difficult game, but in my opinion it is not that President Trump is only nice and gentle with Russia,” Duda said. “I think it applies instruments against Russia, although it may not be as loud and visible as those used against Ukraine.”
“No one has ever been able to stop this war, so give President Trump a chance.”
Last weekend, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski praised with American Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and Trump Ally Elon Musk on social media over the approach of Ukraine to the satellite system Musk Starlink, while Musk released Sikorski as a “small man”. Tusk entered to call on the joint allies of Poland to show respect for weaker partners than arrogance.
Instead, Duda criticized Sikorski for the “completely unnecessary” intervention of Starlink. “You don't talk to the American administration on Twitter, you do it through diplomatic channels,” he said.
Duda, nominated for opposition law and justice (PIS), has been in Loggerheads with Tusk's coalition since she won parliamentary elections in 2023. He repeatedly vetoed Tuska's reform agenda with the help of judges who appointed PiS.
Asked if Trump's administration could affect the Polish presidential elections in May, Duda said that she was “convinced that the Poles would make their own decisions”. However, he expressed concern about the contested election outcome, as in Romania, given that the judges will also have to verify Polish results.
“There is no doubt that we are currently dealing with a very serious constitutional crisis in Poland,” Duda said. “What happened in Romania is very concerned and does not meet European democratic standards.”
The Romanian Constitutional Court banned the far -right candidate of Coulin Georgescu after winning his first round after accusing the first round that he benefits from an illegal campaign organized by Moscow.
The Polish President accused the European Commission of closing blind eyes to the Polish institutional conflict after allegedly accepted “many steps” in 2023 to return to power.
“The European Commission is now pretending to see it,” Duda said. “And you know why?” This is because Prime Minister Tusk is a member of the same European Party as most members of the European Commission, along with the President [Ursula von der Leyen]”
