His arrival marked the 14th time a US president has visited Poland, local news outlets reported.
Upon his arrival at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in the southeast of the country, Biden was greeted by a delegation of officials led by Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
US President Joe Biden's trip marks the 14th time a US president has visited Poland, according to officials. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
The US leader then left the airport to visit a group of American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Rzeszów, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Later in the day, Biden was expected to meet with local charities helping refugees from war-torn Ukraine together with Polish President Andrzej Duda and discuss the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, according to officials.
Polish president's plane makes emergency landing
The schedule of the visit was slightly modified after a plane carrying Duda to welcome Biden was turned back on its way to Rzeszów and made an emergency landing in Warsaw, news outlets reported.
Duda later boarded a different plane in the Polish capital and safely arrived in Rzeszów. His aides told reporters he had not been in any danger.
A plane carrying Polish President Andrzej Duda lands at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on Friday afternoon. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
Duda-Biden talks
Biden and Duda were scheduled to meet again on Saturday for talks at the presidential palace in Warsaw.
In a televised address to the Polish people on Thursday, Duda said: “The presence of the American leader in our country in those trying days is a very important sign corroborating the strategic nature of Polish-American relations.”
He added: “In the face of a genuine threat, we can see in all clarity that strong American leadership is needed in the world. We see how important the presence and engagement of the United States in Europe are.”
Duda also said that a “secure Poland and secure Europe need more of America," both militarily and economically.
"These will be the topics I will raise in my talks with the United States President,” he announced.
Biden to address Poles
On Saturday afternoon, Biden is expected to make an address to the Polish people outside Warsaw’s Royal Castle.
According to the White House, he will speak about “the united efforts of the free world to support the people of Ukraine, hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and defend a future that is rooted in democratic principles."
Also on Saturday, Biden is set to visit a refugee support centre at Warsaw’s National Stadium alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, officials told reporters.
'A frontline and very vulnerable ally'
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has said that the visit comes at a time when Poland "has taken the brunt of the humanitarian impact outside of Ukraine in terms of the refugee flows."
Poland is also where the United States "has surged a significant number of forces to be able to help defend and shore up the eastern flank," Sullivan added.
"Poland has to contend not just with the war in Ukraine but with Russia’s military deployments to Belarus, which have fundamentally changed the security equation there," Sullivan told reporters earlier this week.
"And so, for all of those reasons, we feel that it is the right place for him to go to be able to see troops, to be able to see humanitarian experts, and to be able to meet with a frontline and very vulnerable ally," Sullivan said.
Friday is day 30 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Friday reported it had welcomed 2.24 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: PAP, president.pl, TVP Info, Reuters