President Biden offered his condolences to Polish President Andrzej Duda after suspected Russian missiles crossed into Poland on Tuesday, killing at least two of the NATO ally’s citizens.
In a brief phone call between the two leaders, Mr. Biden, who is attending the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, pledged the full support of the U.S. as Poland carries out its investigation into the incident, which could mark a significant escalation in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to NATO,” the White House said. “The two leaders said that they and their teams should remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.”
Mr. Biden later convened an emergency meeting the leaders of G-20 member countries Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the European Union to address the developments in Poland.
Members of the press asked Mr. Biden, who was surrounded by his foreign counterparts ahead of the closed-door confab, whether he could offer an update about what he knew about the events in Poland.
“No,” the president replied.
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The Polish government convened an urgent national security meeting earlier Tuesday to address what officials called a “crisis situation,” after several Russian missiles apparently strayed into Poland amid a barrage of Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure far from the front lines in Ukraine’s eastern regions.
The Polish Foreign Ministry blamed a “Russian-made missile” for the deaths of two Polish citizens, and summoned the Russian ambassador to Warsaw to discuss the incident.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement ahead of Mr. Biden’s call that the White House officials have “seen the reports out of out of Poland and are working with the Polish government to gather more information.”
“Shortly after receiving these reports, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Chief of the National Security Bureau of Poland Jacek Siewiera,” her statement read. “We cannot confirm the reports or any of the details at this time. We will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied Tuesday afternoon that any Russian missiles were involved the incident, calling the reports a “deliberate provocation” by the Polish government. NATO ministers are meeting Wednesday to hear a Polish report on the attack and consider possible next steps for the alliance.
– Guy Taylor contributed to this report.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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