Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2026

Biden assures Duda of NATO protection during Poland visit

Biden assures Duda of NATO protection during Poland visit

On his final day in Europe, President Joe Biden on Saturday sought to reassure Poland that the US would defend it against any attacks by Russia. He also acknowledged that the NATO ally bore the burden of the refugee crisis from the war in neighboring Ukraine.
“Your freedom is ours," Biden told Poland's President Andrzej Duda echoing one of Poland's unofficial mottos. At the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, the two leaders spoke of their mutual respect and shared goals to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Although times are very difficult, today Polish-American relations are flourishing," Duda said. More than 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, with 2 million going to Poland.

Earlier this week, the US announced it would take in as many as 100,000 refugees. Biden told Duda that he understood Poland was "taking on a big responsibility, but it should be all of NATO's responsibility."

Biden called the "collective defense" agreement of NATO a "sacred commitment" and said the unity of the Western military alliance was of the utmost importance.

“I’m confident that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO," Biden said about the Russian president. "But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together.”

With the war entering its second month, European security is facing its most serious test since World War II.

Western leaders have spent the past week consulting over contingency plans in case the conflict spreads. The invasion has shaken NATO from any complacency it might have felt and cast a dark shadow over Europe.

Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said a speech that Biden was scheduled to give later Saturday in Poland's capital would outline the “urgency of the challenge that lies ahead” and “what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world stay in unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression.”

Biden's remarks will end a four-day trip that included a series of summits in Brussels. In addition to the meeting with Duda, he stopped by a meeting of US and Ukrainian diplomatic and defense officials for an update on Ukraine's military, diplomatic and humanitarian situation.

Also on the schedule: A stop at a stadium where Ukrainian refugees go to obtain a Polish identification number that gives them access to social services such as health care and schools.

The stadium was built in 2012 when Poland and Ukraine hosted the European football championship and was meant to symbolize how far the two countries had come since the Cold War. More recently, it served as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients.

Biden previewed his closing speech during appearances Friday in Rzeszow.

"You're in the midst of a fight between democracies and oligarchs," he told members of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division during a visit to their temporary headquarters. "Is democracy going to prevail and the values we share, or are autocracies going to prevail?"

During a briefing on the refugee response, Biden said "the single most important thing that we can do from the outset" to force Putin to stop the war "is keeping the democracies united in our opposition."

Biden praised the humanitarian effort as being of "such an enormous consequence" given the scope of the crisis, which adds up to the most significant flow of refugees within Europe since World War II.

He appeared to lament that security concerns "understandably" will keep him from visiting Ukraine on this trip.

"We do not want to call them refugees. They are our guests, our brothers, our neighbors from Ukraine, who today are in a very difficult situation," he said.

The US has been sending money and supplies to aid the refugee effort. This week, Biden announced $1 billion in additional aid in addition to accepting refugees.

The US and many of its allies have imposed multiple rounds of economic and other sanctions on Russian individuals, banks and other entities in hopes that the cumulative effect will force Putin to withdraw his troops.

Biden was scheduled to return to Washington after his Warsaw speech.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Oil Prices Retreat From Peak as G7 Weighs Release of Strategic Reserves
Pentagon Identifies U.S. Soldier Who Died After Iranian Strike on Saudi Air Base
Why Saudi Arabia’s $50 Billion ‘The Line’ Megacity Slowed — and How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping the Plan
United States Withdraws Diplomatic Staff from Saudi Arabia and Southeast Turkey as Regional Conflict Escalates
Fanatics Moves Tom Brady Flag Football Showcase from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles Amid Regional War
Saudi Arabia Seeks Strategic Support from Pakistan After Iranian Missile and Drone Attacks
Saudi Arabia Begins Oil Output Cuts as Hormuz Disruption Forces Storage Limits
Saudi Arabia Travel Advisory Tightened as Middle East War Triggers Regional Security Alerts
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran It Will Be ‘Biggest Loser’ as Drone Strikes Spread Across Gulf States
Lindsey Graham Urges Saudi Arabia to Join US Effort Against Iran as War Expands
Saudi Crown Prince Holds Strategic Calls With Spanish and Ukrainian Leaders Amid Regional Tensions
Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways Shifts Operations to Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Airspace Disruptions
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Why Jeddah’s Night Race Has Become One of Formula One’s Most Distinctive Events
F1 Leadership Addresses Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Races as Middle East Conflict Raises Safety Concerns
Zelenskyy Offers Saudi Crown Prince Assistance to Counter Iranian Drone Threat
Seventh U.S. Service Member Dies from Injuries After Iranian Strike in Saudi Arabia
Civilian Infrastructure Increasingly Hit as Iran Conflict Expands and Saudi Arabia Reports First Fatalities
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran to Halt Attacks and Signals Potential Retaliation
US Embassy in Riyadh Issues Security Alert Urging Americans to Shelter in Place Amid Regional Attacks
Projectile Strike on Saudi Residential Building Kills Two as Regional Conflict Expands
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran While Expanding Diplomatic Efforts to Contain Widening Middle East War
Iran’s President Rejects U.S. Surrender Demand as Drone and Missile Strikes Hit Gulf States
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Drone Swarm Targeting Strategic Shaybah Oil Field
Pakistan Faces Growing Pressure to Balance Ties With Iran and Saudi Arabia as Regional War Intensifies
Middle East Conflict Tests Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision to Transform Saudi Arabia Into a Global Hub
Proposed U.S.–Saudi Nuclear Deal Could Ease Traditional Nonproliferation Requirements
Iran Claims Strike on U.S.-Linked Oil Tanker Near Saudi Waters as Maritime Tensions Escalate
Saudi Arabia Says Air Defences Destroyed 23 Drones and Three Missiles Amid Escalating Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran Against ‘Miscalculation’ After Missile and Drone Attacks Across Gulf
Iranian Missiles Intercepted Across Gulf as Air Defences Activate in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain
U.S. Justice Department Pursues Criminal Cases Against Cuban Officials in New Legal Push
Abrupt Cancellation of U.S. Army Exercise Sparks Speculation Over Possible Middle East Deployment
Saudi Arabia Led OPEC Output Surge Ahead of Iran Strikes, Survey Finds
Cristiano Ronaldo Travels to Spain for Hamstring Treatment After Injury in Saudi Pro League Match
Saudi Aramco Reroutes Oil to Red Sea as Strait of Hormuz Disruptions Hit Gulf Exports
Saudi Arabia Presses Ahead With Economic Diversification Despite Fiscal and External Deficits
Middle East Conflict Puts Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races at Risk
Iran Targets Israeli Diplomatic Site in Bahrain and US Air Base in Qatar as Regional Conflict Expands
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Three Ballistic Missiles Targeting Prince Sultan Air Base
Iran Launches Fresh Missile and Drone Attacks Across Middle East as Regional War Intensifies
Saudi Arabia Opens Direct Communication Channel With Iran in Bid to Prevent Wider Regional War
Saudi Arabia Maintains Strong Fiscal Position Despite Global Uncertainty, Finance Ministry Says
Saudi Arabia Considers Response After Iranian Drone Strike Hits Major Northern Oil Refinery
Saudi Carrier Flynas Plans Limited Flight Resumption to Dubai Amid Regional Tensions
Saudi Arabia and UAE Pledge Close Coordination to Secure Oil Supplies for Japan
Middle East Conflict Casts Doubt Over Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races
Iran Rejects Claims of Attacks on Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Oman
Saudi Arabia Condemns Iranian Strikes Targeting Türkiye and Azerbaijan
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Matches Despite Escalating Regional Conflict
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Issues Emergency Security Alert After Drone Strike and Escalating Regional Threats
×