In the United States, a new administration took power. My left is strong, imbued with a sense of message A recognition of left-liberal democracy as the only acceptable model of political and social life, and thus reluctance to look at countries looking for their own, and even slightly different, path. It is also an administration that does not hide a deep reluctance, to put it mildly, from the former president of the United States. Against this background, the prospects for Poland were not good. After all, the people of Joe Biden are fully aware that the current government of the Republic of Poland has taken advantage of the economic situation and has excellent relations with Trump and his administration.
What now? Will the change of president in the United States affect Poland’s international position? There is no shortage of concerns that since we were close to Trump, and given that we took advantage of this exceptional economic situation, we will now have an extremely difficult hill.
last week I asked Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rao about it (The full interview is in the latest issue of the weekly “Sieci”). He answered like this:
I appreciate this argument, but find it exaggerated. Talks with the US side look promising. Secretary Marius Paschak had a very good conversation with the chief of the Pentagon, General Lloyd Austin. The talks were also held by Ministers Krzysztof Szczierski and Bowie Soloch, and I also had an interview with Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken. These contacts do not indicate any change. The democratic camp is very diverse, but the old Democrats appear to be responsible for international relations. Of course, the left wing of the Democratic Party is highly ideological and will try to bring its understanding of human rights into foreign policy. How far will this process go? We don’t know that.
I understand that you do not rule out that there may be difficult moments?
Sure, the desire to promote some worldviews is part of the American Democrats’ tradition. Sometimes it was very useful to us, just mention President Wilson’s 14 points or President Carter’s attack. But remember that the president changed in the United States. We have a completely new electoral mandate, as President Doda won only a few months ago.
In turn, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Minister Marius Baschak, said of his conversation with the head of the Pentagon:
It was a good conversation. We emphasized deepening defense cooperation. I got an invitation to the Pentagon and Lloyd Austin accepted the invitation to Poland. The American side also agreed that one of the Deputies of the Corps Commander in the United States at Fort Knox, Kentucky – who was stationed in Poznan – was a Polish general. This is indeed a decision of the current administration.
Has the new US administration passed a moment of hesitation in the field of military cooperation with Poland? Was there a “let’s look, let’s see” thinking?
There was no such hesitation. During my visits to the United States, I have always spoken with politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties. I know they think similarly about matters of defense and foreign policy. Continuity is guaranteed.
It is still too early to say that the change in the US has not significantly affected its cooperation with Poland, however The first signs are very promising. The converging interests in this case may turn out to be stronger than the obvious ideological differences. And more than that because – as Secretary Rao emphasizes – American leadership is also being defined on a global scale in our region:
Do Three Seas have a chance to survive without the strong and sincere support of the US authorities? Is not this initiative atrophied?
The Three Seas Initiative is basically a civilizational project that creates great economic opportunities also for outside entities, for the United States, but not only. It is also the eastern wing of NATO, as all of these communications communications also have a military dimension. In a sense, the Three Seas Initiative is absolutely fundamental to the Western world, for its cohesion. This consistency would not exist without strong transatlantic ties.
How does this relate to the Three Seas?
Very simple: this is the part of Europe where American leadership is valued. This is a very important component in the context of the US-China competition. If there is no American leadership, everything collapses, and here and in Western Europe, apparent self-interest begins to dominate. The platform for this leadership is precisely the Three Seas Initiative. This is not an issue that is important only to us or to the Romanians. No, it is important to all world architecture.
In other words, if the Americans wanted to maintain their positions, they could not give up Central and Eastern Europe. Of course, it would likely be different games at different levels and in different fields, but today the interests can be considered far reaching
The full interview with Minister Zbigniew Rao – including on the revolution in the diplomatic service – in the latest issue of the weekly “Sieci”. I recommend!
