Ahmet Gencturk and Jo Harper
19 November 2024•Update: 20 November 2024
ATHENS/WARSAW
US President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike inside Russia is a "breakthrough moment,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said Monday.
“I accepted the decision of President Biden and our allies with satisfaction. Ukraine should have such defense means to push back the Russian rear,” Duda told reporters in Warsaw.
According to two high-ranking US officials, Biden authorized the use of the powerful American long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for limited strikes on Russian territory. The decision follows reports that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported.
“This is a very important change. President Biden's decision was followed by (similar) decisions by France and the UK. The situation is developing,” Duda said.
“This decision was very much needed. Russia clearly sees that Ukraine is receiving clear support. This is an important, perhaps breakthrough moment in the war,” he added.
“It is a pity that Germany did not join in, but in the context of Chancellor (Olaf) Scholz's attitude, his talks with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and organizing meetings without (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy in Berlin, it is very good that this decision was made, because it shows that Western countries are not fooled,” said Duda.
Last week, Duda attended the opening of a US military base in northern Poland, where he highlighted the importance of US-Polish ties.
“Relations between Poland and the US are the best in history,” he said at the event in Redzikowo near the Baltic Sea coast.
He emphasized that the base demonstrated the US’s commitment to Eastern Europe’s defense and declared that “the whole world will see clearly and distinctly that this is no longer the Russian sphere of influence.”
The base in Redzikowo is part of NATO's missile defense shield, known as "Aegis Ashore." The system is designed to intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles and includes other components, such as a site in Romania and an early-warning radar in Kurecik, Türkiye.
Scholz-Putin dialogue
Regarding Chancellor Scholz's phone call with Putin last Friday, Duda referred to it as "a self-initiated action" and "a mistake," according to the state-run PAP news agency.
"Don't you have the perception that it's an attempt to seek a possibility to freeze this conflict, to arrange a cease-fire before Donald Trump takes over as the US president?" he said.
Duda further suggested that "perhaps Germany is looking for an opportunity to establish contact," noting that, as the German press points out, "the chancellor's office, the chancellor are looking for a way to reach an agreement with Russia to return to energy contracts and again be able to purchase energy commodities from Russia."
