In recent months, speculation has turned to if the United States could reduce its military presence in Poland and other countries on the eastern NATO side. But Polish President Andrzej Duda does not reject these concerns.
In an exclusive interview with Euronews, he reaffirmed that the American troops remain a constant part of the defense infrastructure of Poland – and that their presence does not weaken but evolves.
“There are several thousand American soldiers on our territory all the time, around 10,000. And this cooperation is close, constant and it becomes stronger, so I have no doubts such,” said Duda.
“It was in a sense, one could say, the rotation in Jasionka, which simply meant transferred responsibilities in the hands of other units. And it happened. We were informed about this, just as we were informed that these soldiers would be transferred to other places of the Polish,” he added.
“I will certainly persuade the President of the United States to have more of these American units here, so that they guarantee security to a greater extent.”
Reassuring stability: presence, no weaning
Duda is clearly in his opinion that the oriental flank of NATO is not weakened, but that it rather undergoes routine adjustments. For him, the long -term presence of American forces in Poland is a key strategic guarantee.
Despite speculation on the rotations of the troops in Jasionka, he stressed that the alliance with the United States remains strong and proactive.
Last year, before the NATO summit in Washington, Duda called for an increase in defense spending among the members of the Alliance.
This year, during the discussions in Brussels with the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, he officially proposed to increase the defense contribution by 3 to 4% of GDP.
For Poland, which shares a border with Belarus and is near the war in Ukraine, the question is more than political – it is existential.
Another central element of Poland's deterrent policy is the continuous presence of NATO troops, in particular American forces, on Polish soil.
Negotiate with Trump a “ hard business game ''
When he was asked if he was disappointed with the second term of US President Donald Trump, Duda said he was aware that Trump had been elected by American taxpayers, and that he should therefore take these interests first.
“Although I always try to show that the interests that the United States has in Europe are also strategic interests, that the United States derives measurable benefits in relations with Europe. And it is the system of balance, which takes place without interruption since the Second World War,” added Duda.
Commenting on the idea of imposing prices on European products by the United States, the Polish president said that Trump was specific because he came to business world politics.
“During most of his life, he was a businessman on the very difficult American economic market. In industries that are extremely competitive in the United States … in the development industry. He owned casinos,” said Duda.
ADVERTISEMENT“It is therefore a man who learns a specific commercial game and has his own commercial methods and games that have been developed for decades. He transfers them to politics and plays very hard.”
“But it is … is simply a business game that President Donald Trump has brought to politics at the moment and pursues him firmly during his second term. You must negotiate with him, you must simply negotiate with him,” added Duda.
Warnings on Putin's KGB state of mind
Despite many controversies, Duda still hopes that Trump and the United States are able to negotiate a peace agreement ending the Moscow War in Ukraine, because Russia only counts with the United States.
He recalled that during one of his visits to Washington, he warned Trump and his associates that the Russian president is not an ordinary politician. He is an agent of the KGB who has completely different conditions, and this should be taken into account, according to Duda.
ADVERTISEMENT“He is educated as a Soviet intelligence officer with very specific skills, which he certainly has used in practice, working in East Germany in the so-called RDA … as a representative of Russian Soviet intelligence,” said the Polish president.
“And this must be taken into account when he speaks to this man. He is not exactly a politician. He is to a large extent still a Russian services officer.”
History lessons
According to Duda, in the years preceding the invasion of Ukraine on a large scale by Russia at the beginning of 2022, Europe made many errors in its policy towards Russia, making too many concessions.
Duda also mentioned the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, during which, despite the previous promises, Georgia and Ukraine did not receive the membership action plan (MAP). This happened following the resistance of France and Germany.
ADVERTISEMENTThis, in turn, Enhard Putin to invade Georgia in 2008, then to annex Crimea in 2014.
“In fact, Russia played with the greats of Europe, and in fact, it was reinforced again to attack once again, which it did in 2022 with its open, frontal and large -scale, as we say, the aggression against Ukraine,” said Duda.
Only the United States can negotiate peace, says Duda
DUDA said only the United States – and in particular, its American counterpart – have the power to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
DUDA has also warned that a future peace agreement will require painful compromises on both sides, including the concessions of Ukraine, and has called for a renewal of transatlantic cooperation to ensure long -term stability in the region.
ADVERTISEMENT“Today, my conclusion is absolutely unequivocal, there is no one outside the United States who can arrest Putin,” said Duda.
“This is why I believe that President Donald Trump, with his determination, can end this war.”
Regional cooperation and Three Seas Initiative
Andrzej Duda also talked about the Three Seas initiative, of which he was one of the founders in 2015, as well as Croatian president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.
A total of 13 countries located in the Adriatic, Baltic and the Black Sea regions belonging to the European Union, are part of the initiative to cooperate with each other in the field of transport and energy security, among others.
ADVERTISEMENT“For us, the most important thing was energy security and the most important were the opportunities for commercial development, but also tourism,” said Duda.
The Three Seas initiative is not a competition for the European Union, but on the contrary, an approval of regional cooperation within the block, he added.
The summit of the Three Seas initiative jubilee will take place in Warsaw on Monday and Tuesday.
