Boris Johnson to visit Poland and NATO chief amid Ukraine tensions
February 9, 2022, 5:47 pm

Boris Johnson to visit Poland and NATO chief amid Ukraine tensions

UK-London-UK flag/Pixabay

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Poland and NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday amid tensions over the security situation in Ukraine.

A Polish foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, Johnson will visit British soldiers stationed in Poland together with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and will also meet President Andrzej Duda.

According to a NATO statement, Johnson is also set to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on the same day. It did not contain the meeting's agenda.

Vladimir Putin and Boris Johnson to discuss Ukraine by phone on Wednesday evening

The visits come as Western countries are working to de-escalate the situation on the Ukrainian border, where thousands of Russian troops are gathered.

Boris Johnson travels to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky

The report noted that Defense minister Ben Wallace had said on Monday week that Britain would send a further 350 troops to Poland. Last year it sent 100 troops to Poland to help support it with a migrant crisis at its border with Belarus.

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.