WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda marked Independence Day on Monday with a call for sustained U.S. commitment to Europe’s security in view of Russian aggression in the region and argued that Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders should be restored.
Weighing on the minds of many is the war across Poland’s border in Ukraine, and an expectation that Donald Trump’s return to the White House will bring a change in the security situation in the region.
Some fear Trump could end the U.S. commitment to NATO, or make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that could result in a permanent loss of territory for Ukraine and encourage Russia to attack other nations. Others believe Trump could persuade Putin to stop the fighting.
Duda, who has had friendly relations with Trump, said in a speech in Warsaw that Europe will continue to need U.S. protection.
“It is a pipe dream — as some people think — that Europe can ensure its own security today,” Duda said.
He emphasized that the security guarantees of successive U.S. presidents are extremely important in times of resurgent Russian imperialism.
“Today we have no doubts that for the security of Europe and the world, it is necessary to strengthen Euro-Atlantic ties,” Duda said.
He said the territorial integrity of all countries, especially Ukraine, should be respected and it “must return to its borders from before the Russian attack, not only the one in 2022 but also the first one, in 2014.”
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Later in a news conference, Duda said he had spoken to Trump and that they would meet before the inauguration in January.
Duda spoke as Poland marked the 106th anniversary of its restored independence at the end of World War I after more than a century of being partitioned and ruled by Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary. The date of Nov. 11 carries powerful weight for a nation where the trauma of losing national sovereignty endures.
In Warsaw, tens of thousands of people took part in a march organized by nationalist groups that has sometimes seen violent clashes in past years but passed without major incident Monday. Organizers estimated turnout at 250,000 while city hall put it at 90,000. Police said they detained 75 people and seized banned items from participants, including pyrotechnic materials, knives, telescopic batons and brass knuckles.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the conservative Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015-2023 and is seeking a comeback, joined the march with other party members.
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