ATHENS/WARSAW

US President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to strike inside Russia is a “watershed moment”, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday.

“I accepted with satisfaction the decision of President Biden and our allies. Ukraine should have defense means to push back the Russian rear,” Duda told reporters in Warsaw.

According to two senior US officials, Biden authorized the use of the powerful US long-range military tactical missile system (ATACMS) for limited strikes on Russian territory. The move follows reports that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine, the New York Times and Washington Post reported.

“This is a very significant change. President Biden’s decision was followed by (similar) decisions by France and the United Kingdom. The situation is evolving,” Duda said.

“This decision was absolutely necessary. Russia clearly sees that Ukraine has clear support. This is an important, perhaps decisive, moment in the war,” he added.

“It is a shame that Germany did not participate, but given the attitude of Chancellor (Olaf) Scholz, his talks with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and the organization of meetings without the president (Ukrainian) (Volodymyr) Zelensky in Berlin, this has It is a very good thing that this decision has been made, because it shows that Western countries are not fools, ”said Duda.

Last week, Duda attended the opening of a U.S. military base in northern Poland, where he stressed the importance of U.S.-Polish ties.

“Relations between Poland and the United States are the best in history,” he said at the event in Redzikowo, near the Baltic Sea coast.

He stressed that the base demonstrated the United States’ commitment to the defense of Eastern Europe and said that “the entire world will see clearly and distinctly that this is no longer the sphere of influence Russian”.

The Redzikowo base is part of NATO’s anti-missile shield, known as “Aegis Ashore”. The system is designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and includes other components, such as a site in Romania and an early warning radar in Kurecik, Turkey.

Scholz-Putin Dialogue

Regarding Chancellor Scholz’s phone call with Putin last Friday, Duda called it a “deliberate action” and a “mistake,” according to the official PAP news agency.

“Don’t you have the impression that this is an attempt to look for an opportunity to freeze this conflict, to arrange a ceasefire before Donald Trump takes over the presidency of the United States ?” 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 and the chancellor are looking for a way to reach an agreement with Russia to return to energy contracts. and be able to buy energy products from Russia again. »

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