"Stronger Europe means stronger and safer Euro-Atlantic bilateral relations"

At a press conference held on Tuesday, the presidential minister presented details concerning the American leader’s upcoming visit to Poland. The American delegation will be almost 20 people strong and the US President will be accompanied by his wife Melania Trump.

As he pointed out, President Trump’s talks with President Duda and the Polish delegation to be held on Thursday were supposed to lead towards the “feeling that we are working together to make both Europe and Euro-Atlantic relations stronger”.

“Stronger Europe means stronger and safer Euro-Atlantic bilateral relations” – said Mr. Szczerski. “Together, we must work to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic community as it forms an indivisible unity, sharing common goals and security issues. Therefore we must make an effort to develop this community and to safeguard its resilience. This is the message President Duda is going to deliver to President Trump at their meeting” - stressed Mr. Szczerski.

The aircraft of the President of the United States is supposed to land in Warsaw on Wednesday at 10 pm local time. According to Mr. Szczerski, details concerning the composition of the US delegation are still to be decided. He said that “it was possible” that the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would not be present during President Trump’s visit in Warsaw.

The US President will be accompanied by the Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, presidential security advisor H.R. McMaster, as well as Jared Kushner who is President Trump’s son in law and one of his most trusted advisors. Mr. Kushner will most probably be accompanied by his wife, Ms. Ivanka Trump. According to the Chief of the President’s Cabinet, the visit of Ms. Ivanka Trump remains outside of the official programme.

President Trump will start his scheduled meetings in Warsaw on Thursday morning from a one-on-one conversation with President Duda, which will take place at the Royal Castle after 9 am. According to Mr. Szczerski, the conversation is going to be about 20 to 25 minutes long and will be held without any accompanying persons or interpreters.

Then, plenary sessions will follow. Poland will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development and Finance Mateusz Morawiecki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski, Minister of National Defence Antoni Macierewicz, the Plenipotentiary of the Government for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski, and members of the Presidential Cabinet: Chief of the Chancellery of the President Halina Szymańska, Head of the National Security Bureau Paweł Soloch, Krzysztof Szczerski, as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States Piotr Wilczek.

According to Mr. Szczerski, key topics to be discussed with the American delegation are security and economic cooperation, including the energy sector. “We want these talks to result in strengthening the Polish-American partnership in areas such as defence and security, and to be a clear message that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains an important factor in Europe’s and Poland’s security. We are also willing to explore opportunities for economic cooperation and business ventures where Poland remains a hub for regional interests” – said Mr. Szczerski.

Mr. Szczerski admitted that concurrently to President Trump’s visit to Warsaw, business negotiations were being held between PGNiG and American partners concerning LNG shipments to Poland. He pointed out that we expected the negotiations to lead to an “economically effective outcome”. According to Mr. Szczerski, President Duda encourages Piotr Woźniak, CEO at PGNiG, to “negotiate towards a diversification effect based on a +win-win+ principle, which in this particular case equals good price, good shipment times and good quality.”

The presidential minister was also asked whether during the talks with President Trump the Polish party would ask him to join the initiative to block the Nord Stream 2 project. According to Mr. Szczerski, the Americans were already sceptical toward the project.

"This is why we do not seek a change in position. We simply present our view, which is consistent in this case: We consider the Nord Stream 2 project detrimental to Europe’s energy security, detrimental to Europe’s gas market and detrimental to European unity” – said Chief of the President’s Cabinet.

Following talks between delegations, there will be a meeting with media representatives, where both Presidents will make their statements. Mr. Szczerski stressed that the media meeting will conclude the bilateral visit.

Afterwards, the President of the United States will be an honorary guest at the Three Seas Initiative Summit. President Trump will attend the first session of the summit, dedicated to Euro-Atlantic cooperation. It will be followed by two subsequent sessions – the second dedicated to the future of Europe and the third to regional cooperation in the areas of economy, energy and infrastructure.

The Three Seas Initiative Summit will be attended by presidents of 10 member countries. Presidents of the Czech Republic and Austria will not be present. According to Mr. Szczerski, President Milosz Zeman will be represented by the second most important person in the country, the Chairman of the Czech Parliament. Austria will be represented by the country’s Ambassador. “Presidents of the Czech Republic and Austria have sent their personal letters to President Duda, expressing their support for this meeting and this initiative and explain the reasons for their absence” – said the Chief of the President’s Cabinet.

According to Mr. Sczerski, the Three Seas Initiative Summit will send the message that regional cohesion contributes to European cohesion. “It should be a confirmation of our determination to strengthening European cohesion” – he said. According to him, the Three Seas Initiative is of practical importance, as it is not about political declarations but preparation of joint cooperation projects.

Following his meeting with the leaders of the Three Seas Initiative countries, the US President will deliver a speech at Krasinskich Square, which, as Mr. Szczerski said, was intended by the American party to be “President Trump’s keynote speech on security policy, Europe, as well as Polish-American relations”.

According to the Chief of President Duda’s Cabinet, it is significant that the speech will be delivered at the site of the Warsaw Uprising Monument. He stressed that the site had been deliberately chosen by the American party. He added, that the speech to be delivered by the American President would start with a “recollection of the history of Poland” as “an example of a nation which fights for freedom, never gives up and is capable of securing its freedom, overcoming its darkest history".

Before the speech, both presidential couples will pay tribute in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument, together with the uprising veterans.

As Mr. Szczerski said, the speech will be delivered to “persons invited by the President of the United States, the American Embassy”. “The audience will span the full political spectrum” – he said. He added that the address was open to the public.

The First Lady Melania Trump will join the Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda for a private conversation. Both first ladies will first attend educational workshops for children at the Copernicus Science Centre and later will be present at Krasinskich Square.

On Friday, as part of the Three Seas Initiative Summit, first agreements are to be signed within the framework of this concept, witnessed by the Presidents of Poland and Croatia. The Three Seas Initiative Summit will be accompanied by a Global Forum expert meeting, organized by the Polish Institute of International Affairs and the Atlantic Council.

Źródło: PAP/tłumaczenie intertext.com.pl