Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that he has received assurances from the U.S. that Washington will not reduce its troop presence in Poland or along NATO’s eastern flank.
While the administration of President Donald Trump has not announced plans to withdraw forces from the region, it has emphasized that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security. This stance has raised concerns among NATO allies about Washington’s commitment to its longstanding defense obligations.
“There are no concerns that the U.S. would reduce the level of its presence in our country, that the US would in any way withdraw from its responsibility or co-responsibility for the security of this part of Europe,” Duda told reporters in Warsaw.
“On the contrary, I hope that thanks to the efforts that President Trump is currently making, the war in Ukraine will end.”
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for comment via email Tuesday afternoon.
Why It Matters
The Polish president’s comments come amid uncertainty in Europe over the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and the United States’ involvement in the conflict, as American officials were set to meet with Russian counterparts.
Over the weekend, European Union and United Kingdom officials were working on a multibillion-dollar package to boost security in the region.
AP Photo
What To Know
Duda, who has long been friendly to Trump, spoke to reporters after meeting General Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, on Tuesday.
Duda said his assessment was based on conversations he had in recent days, both with Kellogg and with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom he hosted in Warsaw last week.
He called on Poles “to remain calm” in light of shifting priorities under Trump.
The U.S. deployed troops to Poland after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but increased the deployment and created a long-term presence there after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In recent days, the Trump administration has begun changing tactics, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance among top officials calling for Europe to take a greater role in the continent’s security, rather than the U.S.
Over the weekend, Rubio praised Lithuania, a former Soviet Union country bordering Russia, for committing to increase its defense spending.
“I commend Lithuania’s dedication to advancing our shared priorities and your strong stance against authoritarian regimes, particularly China and Russia,” the secretary of state said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had said Thursday that “clearly” defense spending needed to be increased, otherwise it would not be possible to protect countries in the bloc in four- or five-years’ time.
Trump himself has pledged to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began almost exactly three years ago when Russian troops invaded their sovereign neighbor. Ahead of his inauguration, Trump said he could end the war within a day.
Nearly a month into the second Trump administration, officials are now meeting with their counterparts from Moscow in Saudi Arabia, while keeping Ukrainian officials at a distance for now.
A plan was discussed to achieve a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, including sending Chinese and Brazilian peacekeepers to Ukraine, while Russian officials have said they will not accept troops under any flag in their country.
What People Are Saying
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, following the talks on Tuesday: “It was a very useful conversation. We listened to each other, and we heard each other.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in Turkey: “We want everything to be fair and so that nobody decides anything behind our back.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at a Thursday press conference: “Our expectation of our friends—and we say this in solidarity—is you have to spend more on your defense, for your country, on that continent, understanding that the American military and the American people stand beside you, as we have in NATO.”
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, in a press release: “President Trump wants to stop the killing; the United States wants peace and is using its strength in the world to bring countries together. President Trump is the only leader in the world who can get Ukraine and Russia to agree to that.”
What’s Next
The State Department said Tuesday that the administration had agreed with Russia to begin negotiating an end to the conflict in Ukraine “as soon as possible”, while also acknowledging that “one phone call followed by one meeting” was not all it would take to do so.
Reporting by The Associated Press contributed to this story.
