The council is scheduled to convene at noon following a decision by President Andrzej Duda, state news agency PAP reported.
The National Security Council advises the president and includes senior officials such as the Speakers of both houses of parliament, the prime minister, the defence, interior and foreign ministers, and prominent politicians from both the government and opposition.
The head of the president’s National Security Bureau (BBN) is also a member of the National Security Council (RBN).
At Friday’s meeting, which is expected to be held behind closed doors at the presidential palace in Warsaw, Duda will brief participants on "the latest national security challenges resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine" following "consultations between the Polish and US presidents" and Wednesday's summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of eastern-flank NATO allies, according to the Polish National Security Bureau.
Duda's top foreign policy adviser, Marcin Przydacz, has said that the gathering will discuss "the security situation in the region in the context of recent diplomatic events," including US President Joe Biden's visit to Poland earlier this week and the B9 summit in the Polish capital.
Biden visited Poland for bilateral talks with his Polish counterpart. He also delivered a major address to the Polish people outside Warsaw’s Royal Castle and met with leaders from nine NATO eastern-flank countries in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Przydacz told reporters that the B9 allies meeting in Warsaw on Wednesday agreed they would defend each other against any potential adversary, condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and called for the reinforcement of NATO’s presence in the region.
Biden told the nine eastern-flank NATO allies in the Polish capital that Article 5 of the alliance's collective defence treaty "is a sacred commitment” and that America "will defend literally every inch of NATO."
US President Joe Biden and Poland's Andrzej Duda attend a summit of the B9 group of eastern-flank NATO allies in Warsaw on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who also attended the meeting, warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “preparing for more war” and urged allies to "give Ukraine what they need to prevail.”
In a major speech in Warsaw on Tuesday, Biden vowed that America and its allies "will not tire" of supporting Ukraine and that "Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia."
During his visit, Biden praised his country's relationship with Poland, saying that Warsaw was a critical NATO ally for Washington as Moscow waged war against Kyiv.
"The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States," Biden said during a meeting with Poland's Duda at the presidential palace in Warsaw on Tuesday.
He reassured Polish leaders that NATO's "pledge of security" was an "ironclad commitment" amid Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Friday is day 366 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP