Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris contrasts greatly with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China. The message from Warsaw is clear — the U.S. does not have to worry about Poland’s loyalty.
The tense international situation has drawn America and Poland closer together than they have ever been in the past. Warsaw and Washington understand that they cannot count on either Paris or Berlin. Poland understands only too well that it has to have the backing of the world’s first superpower, as it cannot rely on the backing of Germany and France who run the EU.
The U.S. seems to understand that it needs a more reliable partner in Europe than Germany, and with Russia and China increasingly in alliance, the U.S. wants partners it can trust in Europe. Thanks to the relentless efforts of both Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, there is now a common understanding of mutual interest between Poland and the U.S. that is far more important than any ideological disagreements between Polish conservatives and U.S. Democrats.
Both have total clarity on the need for Ukraine to win the war. Morawiecki recently told Harris that the failure to defend Ukraine would lead to a global conflict and crisis that would be “hard to fathom.” Harris underlined that since March of last year, Poland and the U.S. were in full agreement on the question of Ukraine. It is, therefore, not surprising that we regularly hear about more U.S. arms being purchased by Poland and that the presence of U.S. troops in Poland will be greater.
The Polish prime minister’s remarks on China after his meeting with Kamala Harris were designed to move the two countries closer on that issue also. He stressed that any arms supply by China to Russia would be “crossing a red line” and that Western dependence on the Chinese economy was a disadvantage. Poland understands that China’s willingness to change the global security architecture is unfavorable to its interests.
Most important, however, was Morawiecki’s bold assertion that Europe does not need less America in Europe but for it to strengthen its transatlantic alliance. “I see no alternative to building a closer alliance with America,” said Morawiecki, adding that “Poland wants a strategic partnership with the U.S. on all possible levels.”
Warsaw is in the middle of a major diplomatic offensive. This is a result of the shift towards it both in NATO and the EU. It is clearly offering an alternative to Macron’s pipe dream of European strategic autonomy and the German ambitions to turn the EU into a new European Reich.
Poland has a strong alliance with the U.S. in these dangerous times. Morawiecki’s visit to Washington merely underlined that this alliance is getting stronger and deeper all the time.
