U.S. Ambassador to Poland: if Ukraine pushes Russia out, it will be the biggest endorsement of Western democracy

In an interview for TVN24's Katarzyna Kolenda-Zaleska, U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski shared his wishes for 2023. "I hope for peace in Ukraine, prosperity and thriving in Poland," he said.

"We're at a situation in which the Ukrainian people are winning in their fight against the Russian soldiers, pushing the Russian soldiers back against all odds, and the West united dozens of countries, differentially situated countries, democratic countries, united in their support for the Ukrainian people," he added.

"If the Ukrainian people win and push Russia back out of Ukraine, it will be the biggest endorsement of the Western definition of democracy and free market that we will have seen in years," Brzezinski said.

He also stressed that "the military cooperation between America and Poland is stronger than it's ever been, because we are doing more together than we've ever done before".

"Tadeusz Kościuszko's words 'za wolność wasza i naszą' (for our freedom and yours - edit.) truly are given practical meaning today, with the thousands of U.S. troops here in Poland, spread out all over this country, shoulder to shoulder with Polish troops, looking east and making sure that president Biden's requirement that we defend every square inch of NATO soil, including Poland, is realised," the ambassador underscored.

"I personally approached Washington, D.C. to get as much of what we call Foreign Military Financing of Poland's military as possible. That's where the U.S. government helps close allies like Poland purchase equipment so that it can defend itself, and I was able to work with Washington to secure 192 million dollars in foreign military grants to help Poland, including on this announcement that we made last week, in which 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks, Brzezinski said.

"The most sophisticated tanks will be delivered to Poland in the coming year as Poland delivers tanks to Ukraine to provide a kind of backfill, most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and lethal backfill that money can buy. And so we've been able to secure that foreign military aid for Poland."

"And in addition to that, Poland has purchased 250 of the most capable, sophisticated, Abrams tanks, the M1A2, and those will be scheduled for delivery some time in the next two years. In the meantime, a tank training academy has been set up in Poland with 28 tanks ... in which U.S. military trainers are working side by side with Polish soldiers, to train 250 different units to man the 250 M1A2 tanks that Poland is purchasing," the ambassador added.

Similar cooperation is occurring on helicopters. Poland has just announced purchase of numerous Apache helicopters. Those are tank killer helicopters and the best battlefield weaponry in terms of some of the threats that Poland could face."

Brzezinski also said that "Poland has purchased a number of various Patriot systems and those are already being deployed, as you know, in Rzeszów, as part of seamless configuration that we would hope for across the eastern flank to protect Poland and other central-European countries".

"America and Poland, I feel, stand for the same democratic values," the ambassador said.

He added, however, that "each of our systems has to stay vigilant in terms of threats to democracy, threats to human rights, and threats to the rule of law". "You see in America in the last couple of years the challanges we face, but we're upfront and transparent about them. Just as our president said when he was here last March, we have our own struggles, and Poland has its. And we each need to be vigilant for each other."

The U.S. ambassador was also asked if, in his view, democracy can prevail without the rule of law and freedom of the press. "No, it can't. And I think that's an important point. Freedom of the press is one of the fundamental ways of protecting our populations against disinformation. A robust exchange of ideas, with competing ideas - and sometimes they compete loudly, is the way to find the best way forward," he replied.

"You know, I come from a family that has been for a long time involved in politics. My late father Zbigniew Brzezinski - in the press, many, many terrible and hard things were said about him - and he always understood that's just part of the process. Sometimes the press can be hard - they ask probing, hard questions. And you know what? It's ok. It will be fine as long as we're open and transparent about our positions. No one person has it all right. No one person has all the answers. That's the beauty of democracy - that you have a competition of ideas within the press. And the freedom of the press, freedom of expression is important to preserve, to defend against, and to be extremely careful in its cultivation," Brzezinski said.

He also stressed that "the U.S. government does not not recognise the right of regulatory agencies to investage matter in their purview". "Regulatory agencies have a right to investigate matters in their purview, but in Poland, over the last couple of years, it is a fact that some politicians, even some members of KRRiT (Poland's National Broadcasting Council - edit.), have expressed animosity to TVN. And I think that is especially important to convey that in the current process, that it be approached deliberative and sober way. To make sure that any kind of outcome truly reflects the facts and respects the rule of law," he added.

"We fought for our democracies to have as its fundamental underpinnings freedom of the media and freedom of expression," Mark Brzezinski stressed, adding that Poland has "a robust media environment". "That's something for Poland to be proud of."

"I assure that Western businesses here in Poland see the presence of TVN as a source of tremendous reassurance. Those Western businesses provide thousands of jobs in Poland. And they are reassured by the existence and presence, and the robust participation of all the media outlets, including TVN," he said.

"And I can assure you also, and I have to say this very clearly, that the U.S. government very much sees the freedom of the press of which TVN is an important part, to be a central foundation of the democracy that we see in modern Poland, which our special friend at this time," the U.S. ambassador underscored.