Biden To Visit Poland Amidst Growing Refugee Crisis

US President Joe Biden will meet with Polish president Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Saturday following summits with the EU, NATO, and the G-7 on Thursday.

• The trip comes as Poland has emerged as the most exposed NATO member to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said there are now over 2 million refugees in Poland.
• Morawiecki: 'Ukraine defends itself in an amazing way and it is clear that it will continue to do so until the successful end - that is, defending its territorial independence. But to do so, it needs defensive weapons.'
• Over the weekend Morawiecki also announced plans to formally submit a proposal to NATO for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, a proposal reportedly supported by fellow NATO member Denmark.
• It is likely that the White House scheduled the meeting with Duda in response to fears that Poland is the NATO member most likely to inadvertently escalate the alliance’s role in the conflict.
• Biden is likely to use the trip to Ukraine to try to reunify NATO and may pledge greater financial support for Warsaw to deal with the refugee crisis.
• Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times has speculated that the intentional creation of a refugee crisis in NATO member states may be 'Putin's plan B.' It is possible that if NATO members start feeling the economic burden of a refugee crisis they may petition Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to submit to Russian ceasefire conditions.