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Poland Set to Host Trump's First Major Public Speech in Europe

by Henry Ridgwell

   WARSAW --

   U.S. President Donald Trump, who departs for Poland Wednesday, is due
   to meet Eastern European leaders in Warsaw before speaking in the
   center of the Polish capital, in what will be his first major public
   address in Europe.

   The White House says the president will reiterate his commitment to
   NATO's principle of common defense, but also restate his demand that
   other members contribute more to the alliance's financial burden.

   Over 3,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland as part of a NATO
   deployment aimed at countering Russian aggression in Ukraine.

   Poland is looking for concrete assurances, says the University of
   Warsaw's Professor Zbigniew Lewicki, a political analyst.

   "I think most people want to hear that the United States would keep its
   military presence in Poland, would observe Article 5 of the (NATO)
   Washington Treaty - meaning coming to our assistance if need be,"
   Lewicki said.

   Trump speaks at symbolic site

   Trump will deliver his speech in the capital's Krasinski Square, which
   has deep symbolism for many Poles, commemorating their resistance to
   totalitarian rule. His podium will stand beneath an imposing bronze
   monument to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, honoring hundreds of thousands of
   Polish soldiers and civilians who died during an ultimately
   unsuccessful two-month insurgency against the city's Nazi occupiers.

   "We are very happy that the President of America would like to visit us
   here in Poland. And especially in this place because this is the
   historical place, very important for the Polish people and for the
   citizens of Warsaw," resident Adam KÄdziorek told VOA.

   Many Poles welcome strengthened bonds with the United States, says
   Marcin Zaborowski of Visegrad Insight, a Warsaw-based journal of
   politics and culture focused on central Europe. ((
   [1]http://visegradinsight.eu/about/ ))

   "In Warsaw, which was the place which was completely eradicated during
   the Second World War, the sense of insecurity is very strong. And we
   are next door to belligerent Russia," Zaborowski said. "So there is an
   expectation that this Article 5 will be mentioned. And also the threat
   from Russia will be explicitly mentioned."

   Poles seek economic security

   Economic security is high on the agenda. Prior to his speech Trump will
   attend the Three Seas Initiative Summit, designed to boost energy
   independency in Eastern Europe. Poland hopes to become a hub for
   imports of American liquefied natural gas.

   "We now get a lot of gas from Russia, from Gazprom. And they use it to
   blackmail us, to blackmail Ukraine," Warsaw University's Lewicki said.
   "Our contract with Gazprom runs out in two years. And I think this will
   be the time not to renew it. And simply depend on gas from Norway, as
   well as the United States."

   Supporters say Trump's views on many global issues, such as climate
   change and migration, are shared with many leading figures in Poland's
   current government. However, some fear the U.S. president's visit could
   deepen the growing rift between Eastern and Western Europe.

   "If President Trump will use the occasion to divide the Europeans and
   say that some Europeans, like the Poles, are better than the other
   Europeans, like the French and the Germans that he doesn't get along
   very well with, that would not help anyone," said Zaborowski.

   Opposition groups are set to demonstrate their opposition to Trump.
   Marcelina Zawisla of the Razem (Together) Party, which has staged
   several large anti-government protests recently, told reporters outwise
   the U.S. embassy Tuesday: "We do not agree with [Trump's] chauvinistic
   behavior or with his decision to leave the Paris climate agreement that
   exists to protect our planet."

   Any demonstrators are likely to be kept far away from Krasinski Square,
   and it is plain the Polish government is determined to offer President
   Trump a warm welcome.

References

   1. http://visegradinsight.eu/about/