US reaction after Poland announced cutting aid to Ukraine
(Dan Tri) – The US believes that Poland’s decision to cut military aid to Ukraine is a decision of national sovereignty and does not mean that support for Kiev has decreased.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder (Photo: Getty).
`We still say that any country deciding the level of support for (Ukraine) is a sovereign decision,` Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a press conference on September 21 when mentioning
Mr. Rider also recalled Poland’s contributions to aid activities for Kiev recently.
`I want to emphasize that Poland is one of the leading countries in providing aid to Ukraine, not only security aid, but also humanitarian aid, supporting millions of Ukrainian refugees,` he said.
Responding to a question about whether Poland’s move could be seen as a signal of a change in perspective in Eastern Europe on the Ukraine crisis, Mr. Ryder said the Ukraine Defense Contact Group `is a good example.`
The above comments were made not long after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki suddenly announced on September 20 that the country would stop providing military aid to Ukraine to focus on equipping its army.
Until recently, Poland was one of Ukraine’s strongest allies.
According to experts, Warsaw’s move is quite sudden, but still predictable due to recent tensions between the two countries regarding grain exports.
Some opinions believe that Poland’s decision is partly influenced by next month’s election, which may be a way for the Polish ruling party to attract support from voters who oppose aid to Ukraine.
Poland calmed public opinion
After Prime Minister Morawiecki’s controversial statement about cutting off aid to Ukraine, Polish officials have corrected and clarified this statement.
According to Pravda, Mr. Morawiecki’s statement was said to be inconsistent with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Polish President Andrzej Duda also said yesterday that Prime Minister Morawiecki’s statement was misinterpreted because it was not placed in a specific context.
`In my opinion, the Prime Minister just said this: we will not supply Ukraine with new weapons that we are buying under the Polish army modernization program,` President Duda said.
He added that a few months ago, he discussed with Prime Minister Morawiecki about plans to purchase and equip the army.
`We have the same opinion. We cannot transfer new weapons that we are spending billions of dollars to equip the Polish army to enhance security for Poland,` he emphasized.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller later clarified that the country still provides weapons to Ukraine according to previous commitments, but not the new weapons that Warsaw ordered for its army.