"The Poles have been particularly alarmed by signs of deepening ties between Berlin and Moscow, and openly opposed the German partnership in Russia's Nord Stream II pipeline," recalls analyst Diane Francis at the Atlantic Council. The visit has also been interpreted as an unequivocal message of US support for Poland, a country that has previously warned its Western partners, especially its European neighbours, of the Kremlin's methods. It is a complicated undertaking, but the White House occupant has the strong backing of the countries on NATO's eastern flank. That is why he has chosen its capital, Warsaw, as the venue for the second stop on his latest European tour, aimed at convincing his Western partners to speed up the delivery of arms to Ukraine to stop the imminent offensive by Russian troops in the east of the country and, if possible, to repel the blow with a major counteroffensive that will tip the balance of the war. US President Joe Biden is aware of Poland's strategic importance. "With leaders who understand the nuances and complexities of dealing with Russia, it can serve as an effective intermediary for Central and Eastern European interests in Brussels and for Europe's interests in the world." "Poland's geostrategic importance is undeniable and its response to Russia's war of aggression has improved its international standing," writes Soňa Muzikárová, a political economist and advisor to the Slovak Foreign Ministry, on the Project Syndicate blog. CERNY - Polish President Andrzej Duda welcomes US President Joe Biden outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, February 21, 2023 In 1945, Soviet victory brought with it the imposition of a communist regime, which Poland managed to leave behind in 1989, becoming the first European country to leave the Eastern Bloc. In fact, Poland did not regain independence until the end of the Great War, although it would lose it again during the Second World War. It is a product of history, inherited since Tsarist Russia annexed parts of Poland in the late 18th century. For Warsaw, Moscow poses an existential threat. The Polish government has turned the country into a logistical centre for channelling the flow of Western arms received by the Ukrainian army and has defended tooth and nail the imposition of harsher sanctions against the Russian economy by EU institutions. Moreover, on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion, Warsaw has provided Kiev with more economic, military and humanitarian assistance than most Western countries, second only to London and Washington, and has adopted a much more aggressive rhetoric than it has used against Moscow in recent decades. Together with the Baltic states, Poland has led the EU's campaign to support Ukraine, taking in more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and armouring its armed forces with a record increase in defence spending of more than 3% of GDP. Perceived until February last year as an uncomfortable partner of the West because of its illiberal drift, the democratic retreat set in motion in the country in the face of criticism from the European Union by the Law and Justice party (PiS) of former president Jarosław Kaczyński and his successor Andrzej Duda has been relegated to the background by the new role that Warsaw has assumed as a spearhead against the threat of Russia on NATO's eastern flank. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has served to clean up Poland's external image.
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