John Kirby, who is the strategic communications coordinator at America's National Security Council, made the statement in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Tuesday night.
Kirby was speaking in Warsaw, where he accompanies Biden on a visit to Poland.
The US president had travelled to Kyiv on Monday, to reaffirm support for Ukraine, before arriving in Warsaw for a two-day visit to meet with allies and to discuss the West's response to Russia’s nearly year-old invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Biden held talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda before delivering a major address outside the Polish capital's historic Royal Castle.
Asked about the importance of Biden’s visit to Poland, Kirby told Polish Radio’s White House correspondent Marek Wałkuski that “a year on from the start of the war in Ukraine,” the US president believed it was important “to speak directly to Ukrainians in Kyiv and to speak directly to Poles in Warsaw.”
The US official added that Biden sought to stress the importance of the anniversary and the support that the world must keep providing to Ukraine.
Kirby said the US president stated that America was leading the way in providing such support and that it would continue “for as long as it takes.”
‘Admiration and respect for Polish people’
The National Security Council official told Polish Radio that Biden was “delighted, but not surprised” by the warm welcome he received in Warsaw.
Kirby said the US president was also warmly received last year, “the people of Poland and Warsaw know him,” and this year he came with “important words.”
Poland’s role in helping Ukraine is ‘really significant’
The US official stressed that Biden “admires the Polish people and has great respect for them,” and that he “said it today, that the Polish contribution to helping Ukraine is very significant.”
Kirby noted that Polish people “welcomed 1.5 million refugees into their homes,” and those fleeing the war “can go to school, go to work and receive health care here, they are part of the Polish society.”
He added that Poland was providing “billions of dollars” in military aid to Ukraine, hosting 10,000 US soldiers and helping distribute US assistance to Ukraine.
“This is really something significant,” the official said, as cited by Polish Radio.
‘At stake in Ukraine is the very idea of sovereignty’
Asked why it was so important for the US president to keep supporting Ukraine, Kirby replied: “Because what’s at stake here is the very idea of sovereignty, the very idea of independence. And independence is an ideal that all Americans know and hold dear to their hearts.”
He stressed: “That’s what the Ukrainian people are fighting for. In addition to their lives, they are fighting for their right to exist as a country. The way Poland has had to fight for its existence as a country.”
The US official stated: “There’s something special about that. And that’s why the president felt that it was so important for him to go to both countries.”
On Wednesday, Biden is expected to attend a summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of eastern-flank NATO allies in Warsaw.
During his visit to Poland, Biden will also hold talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and meet with US embassy staff, according to the White House.
Wednesday is day 364 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm)
Source: IAR, polskieradio24.pl
