Polish rivals unite in DC to lobby for Ukraine military aid

Source: Politico | March 12, 2024 | Alexander Ward and Eli Stokols

Andrzej Duda and Donald Tusk came to the White House in an “absolutely unique sign of political unity.”

President Joe Biden’s meeting with Poland’s two leaders at the White House on Tuesday is both about getting more aid to Kyiv, and an attempt to show that even political rivals can come together for the defense of Ukraine.

Conservative Polish President Andrzej Duda joined Poland’s prime minister, the center-right Donald Tusk, on Tuesday for a discussion about sending more weapons to Kyiv. They have an intense political feud at home, but they’re putting differences aside to convince Congress and Biden to ensure Ukraine doesn’t lose more ground to Russia.

“The entire Polish political scene, dare I say it, is coming together to show that we are united in matters of our country’s security,” Duda said before flying to the United States. Tusk added: “I differ politically with President Andrzej Duda on almost everything, but on the security of our homeland we must and will act together.”

Duda and Tusk’s hope is that their show of unity will convince partisans in Washington to work together in common cause of defending a democracy in Europe. White House officials said they want to see that message resonate throughout Washington — and particularly in the halls of Congress.

“There cannot be a free Europe without a free and independent Ukraine,” Tusk said at the outset of the Polish leaders’ East Room meeting with Biden.

In a clear signal to Republicans, Duda used an op-ed in the Washington Post Monday to call on all NATO members to increase their defense spending to three percent of their GDP.

Biden, during brief comments while reporters were in the meeting room, praised Poland for spending nearly 4 percent of its GDP on defense — double the NATO benchmark many member states have yet to meet.

He also warned that an unchecked Putin “won’t stop at Ukraine,” but said there was “no need” as yet to send more U.S. troops to Poland, which makes up a long stretch of the alliance’s eastern flank.

Duda, a darling of conservatives, also met alone with Speaker Mike Johnson, who hasn’t brought the $60 billion supplemental for Ukraine aid to the House floor. “Duda is our Republican whisperer,” said Michał Baranowski, who leads the German Marshall Fund’s Poland office and is in close contact with senior officials in Warsaw..

The visit comes at Washington’s initiative and has forced the leaders to paper over their deep political divisions.

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