U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has arrived in Warsaw at the start of a two-day visit to Poland and Romania to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the impact the war is having on the region.
Harris arrived in the Polish capital on March 9 amid unexpected diplomatic turbulence over fighter jets.
The Polish government on March 8 came out with a plan to transfer its Russian-made fighter planes to a U.S. military base in Germany, with the expectation that the planes would then be handed over to Ukrainian pilots trying to fend off Russian forces. In turn, the United States would supply Poland with U.S.-made jets with “corresponding capabilities.”
But the Poles didn’t run that idea past the Biden administration before going public with it, and the Pentagon quickly dismissed the idea as not tenable. Warplanes flying from a U.S. and NATO base into airspace contested with Russia would raise the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed on March 9 that Poland's support to Ukraine has been defensive and that any decision on whether to make the MiG-29 planes available to Ukraine would be up to the United States and NATO -- and then only if all nations agreed.
“Poland is not a side in this war,” he said, adding, “Such a serious decision like handing over planes must be unanimous and unequivocally taken by all of the North Atlantic Alliance.”
Harris is expected to continue talks with the Poles about getting fighter jets to the Ukrainians during her visit to Warsaw, according to a senior administration official quoted by AP.
On March 9, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Harris's trip was unrelated and the issue of planes would be “worked through military channels."
Harris is scheduled to meet on March 10 with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as well as with Ukrainians who have fled to Poland.
Harris will travel on March 11 to Bucharest, where she’s to meet Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
The vice president is also expected to use the meetings in Poland and Romania to underscore the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance and the need for continued humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine.
Harris Arrives In Warsaw Amid Dispute Over Fighter Jets For Ukraine
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wave as she boards Air Force Two to travel to Europe on March 9.