Donald Tusk and Radosław Sikorski were the last participants of the “coalition of the willing,” yet they did not express a desire to travel to Washington. No one contacted us, and a single phone call from the Prime Minister’s Office asking if President Karol Nawrocki could attend would have been enough, a senior official from the President’s Office says.
Washington Summit Lacks Polish Representation
On Monday evening a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to take place in Washington, followed by broader discussions with European leaders, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte. However, the negotiation table will be missing a Polish representative because President Karol Nawrocki, Prime Minister Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski – plus the head of Ministry of Foreign Affairs – are not travelling to the US capital.
Who is to blame?
Since early morning, representatives from those three key state offices have been pushing hands over who is to blame for Warsaw not being represented on Monday in the White House. The government side maintains that it was the president’s responsibility to take on contacts with the Trump administration. “I inform that the president of the United States invites the recipients of the MAGA movement, as well as the Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who enjoy privileged relations. Please use them for Poland and Europe,” Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski wrote on X. “Today’s meeting in Washington follows the same format as former online discussions led by European leaders in which President Trump participated. Then President Karol Nawrocki represented Poland – which is again reflected in the government spokesperson Adam Szłapka’s statement on the same portal.”
Teleconference after the Alaska Meeting
The discussion refers to the teleconference the US leader held after Friday’s meeting in Alaska with Vladimir Putin. In his conversation with President Zelensky, participants also included Chairwoman von der Leyen, Secretary‑General Rutte, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the presidents of France, Finland and Poland – Emmanuel Macron, Alexander Stubb and Karol Nawrocki.
One Phone Was Missing
From the perspective of President Nawrocki’s circle, they remind that later on Saturday and Sunday further consultations took place with European state representatives (but without Trump). In those meetings Polish Prime Minister Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski participated. According to our sources, the KPRM decided then which European lineup would represent on Monday in Washington. Neither Tusk nor Sikorski showed willingness to travel to the USA, nor did anyone contact us to ask if President Nawrocki could go. In reality, a single phone call to the KPRM would have sufficed, says a senior official from the President’s Office.
President Nawrocki Reminds of September 3 Visit
On Monday President Nawrocki reminded that his visit to the USA is scheduled for September 3. “In the last week I took part in two talks with Donald Trump and European leaders, presenting Poland’s clear position on the lack of trust in Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation. Today’s meeting follows the format of the coalition of the willing. In this coalition Poland’s government is represented, and President Zelensky invited the European leaders,” he added during the Monday ceremony of appointing his advisors.
Evening Meeting at the White House
The evening meeting at the White House will involve Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Rutte, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. President Trump is to first discuss with Zelensky (and later with the broader grouping) the results of his Friday conversation with Putin in Alaska.
