USA. President Andrzej Duda met with Donald Trump in New York

Andrzej Duda's meeting with former US President Donald Trump, who is fighting for re-election, began around 7:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday (1:30 a.m. Polish time) at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York. The politicians went to dinner as planned.

“We are, of course, also interested in meetings with influential people in the United States. We are talking about a man who was president of the United States for four years. We know each other well,” said the president before leaving for the United States.

At Wednesday's briefing in New York, the president was asked about the planned talks with Trump and whether he was afraid that the meeting “may slightly antagonize the Joe Biden administration.” – No, I'm not afraid, because presidents meet with their colleagues, especially those who once held presidential offices in their countries. This is normal practice, there is nothing extraordinary about it, he said.

He added that “presidents also meet with various politicians during their visits abroad.” – It is normal that if a country has good relations with another country, it wants these relations to be the best with representatives of various sides of the political scene – said Duda.

– I was invited by Mr. Donald Trump to his private apartment. This is truly a private visit, a private invitation, Duda noted. He added that he had worked with Trump for four years. “We know each other, we are in good relations,” he said. He added that the talks “will concern our cooperation.” – We just know each other as people. Like two, I might say, friends in a sense, the president noted.

The current US administration commented on Duda's planned meeting with Trump. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted that contacts between foreign governments and candidates of the largest parties for the US president have been a practice for many years, and US leaders often meet with foreign opposition leaders.

The announcement of the meeting sparked a series of comments in the country. Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that he expected the Polish president to “raise very firmly the issue of clearly siding with the Western world, democracy and Europe” in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict at such a meeting.

According to Donald Tusk, from the point of view of the security of Poland, Europe and the future of NATO, a possible victory of Trump in the autumn presidential elections in the USA would probably be unfavorable for these matters.

Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz also expressed the opinion that during such a meeting it is worth trying to get Congress to vote on aid for Ukraine. – I believe that this is a fundamental issue, the most important at the moment – said Kosiniak-Kamysz.

For Trump, who is seeking re-election, the meeting with President Duda is just another conversation with a representative of foreign authorities. At the beginning of April, his estate in Florida was visited by British Foreign Minister David Cameron, and in March, Trump received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban there.