President Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Sikorski will meet January 26 to resolve disputes over Polish ambassadorial appointments, including the contested Washington post.
Meeting to Address Embassy Disputes
A meeting between President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is scheduled for January 26 to discuss the staffing of Polish diplomatic posts. The most serious dispute concerns the Polish embassy in Washington, which has been led by former Defense Minister Bogdan Klich as chargé d’affaires since November 2024.
President’s Objections to Klich
Presidential minister Marcin Przydacz has indicated that Klich’s days in the United States are numbered. President Nawrocki, like his predecessor Andrzej Duda, has refused to sign the request to appoint the former defense minister as ambassador. According to the president, Klich is unable to “dignifiedly” represent Poland in the United States.
Presidential Minister’s Remarks
On Wednesday, Przydacz expressed the view that the days of the former defense minister in Washington are numbered, and that Minister Sikorski “is already reconciled to the fact that Bogdan Klich will not be ambassador” in the US capital.
Tusk Defends Klich
Regarding the future of Klich in the US, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “It’s not true.” When asked about the presidential minister’s words during a press conference on Thursday, the head of government stated: “The days of Minister Klich are not numbered. There is no decision to withdraw Mr. Klich from the post in Washington. This is untrue.”
Wider Ambassadorial Appointments Dispute
The dispute between the government and Presidential Palace concerns several dozen foreign posts in total. As the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported at the end of the year, about 40 requests for the appointment of new ambassadors await Karol Nawrocki’s approval. This concerns not only Washington, but also Rome, Kyiv, Berlin and Tehran.
