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Vice President Kamala Harris’s trip to Warsaw to thank Poland for taking in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion took an unexpected turn before she even left Washington.
She will be parachuting into the middle of unexpected diplomatic turbulence over fighter jets.
The Polish government on Tuesday came out with a plan to transfer its Russian-made fighter planes to a US 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 US would supply Poland with US-made jets with “corresponding capabilities”.
But the Poles had not run that idea past President Joe Biden's administration before going public with it and the Pentagon quickly dismissed the idea as “not tenable".
Warplanes flying from a US and Nato base into contested airspace could raise the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday stressed that Poland’s support to Ukraine has been defensive and that any decision on making the MiG-29 planes available to Ukraine would be up to the US and Nato — and then only if all nations agreed.
“Poland is not a side in this war,” he said. “Such a serious decision like handing over planes must be unanimous and unequivocally taken by all of the North Atlantic alliance.”
The plane issue provided a rare moment of disharmony in what has been a largely united effort by allies to assist Ukraine without becoming embroiled in a wider war with Russia.
And it meant Ms Harris was flying into fractious terrain on Wednesday as she opens a two-day visit to Poland and Romania.
“This fighter jet situation is a messy deal and Harris will have to go there and smooth things out,” said Daniel Fried, who served as US ambassador to Poland for former president Bill Clinton and as a senior adviser in both the George W Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
“There’s plenty of discussion on the way ahead that needs to be had with the Poles that is better to have in an in-person conversation.”
Ms Harris is expected to continue talks with the Poles about bringing fighter jets to the Ukrainians during her visit to Warsaw, said a senior administration official who previewed the trip on the condition of anonymity.
The matter remains a priority for the Biden administration, the official added.
Ms Harris is scheduled on Thursday to meet Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Mr Morawiecki as well as Ukrainians who have fled to Poland.
She will also meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while in Warsaw. Mr Trudeau has been in Europe this week meeting with Ukraine's allies.
Ms Harris will travel on Friday to Bucharest, where she’s to meet Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
The vice president also is expected to use the meetings in Poland and Romania to underscore the US commitment to the Nato alliance and the need for continued humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine. She will also highlight the need for allies to continue their close co-ordination.
Mr Biden has applauded Poland and other Eastern European countries for stepping up in the midst of what has become an enormous humanitarian crisis. About two million people have fled Ukraine and more than half of the refugees have arrived in Poland.
The US president on Tuesday said he was committed to helping Ukraine’s neighbours assist refugees. He has sent 4,700 additional US troops to Poland to bolster the defence of the Nato ally.
“I’ve made it clear that the United States will share in the responsibility of caring for the refugees so the costs do not fall entirely on the European countries bordering Ukraine,” Mr Biden said.
He had been looking to Congress to pass a $14 billion aid package to assist Ukraine and its Eastern European allies.
Hours after Mr Biden spoke, Poland blindsided the White House with its proposal.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland called the MiG-29 transfer to “a surprise move by the Poles” while speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee shortly after the announcement.
She and several senators noted that Warsaw had not co-ordinated the transfer with the US.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken did say on Sunday that the US was working with Poland on plans to supply Ukraine with fighter jets and to “backfill” Poland’s needs.
The Polish government, however, made clear that it would not send its fighter jets directly to Ukraine or allow its airports to be used.
Ms Harris travelled to the Munich Security Conference last month to rally European allies in the days before the invasion. She also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European officials.
“The vice president’s trip to Poland and to Europe is part of our effort to show our strong support for our Nato allies and partners, the security assistance they’ve been providing, their role in accepting and welcoming refugees from Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
