Polish President Andrzej Duda will make his first official visit to the White House on Tuesday with security, defense and energy on top of his agenda for talks with President Trump, a statement from the White House said.
Regional security, the presence of American soldiers in Poland, and economic cooperation – many items seem to be on Duda's wish list.
So can the Polish president get a satisfying answer from Trump?
Poland, forefront of escalating tensions
"National security is Polish foreign policy's top priority," Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in a speech on Poland's 2018 diplomacy priorities in March.
One important way to reach the goal is securing support from the US.
Poland hopes for a permanent US military presence in the country, Duda said in a speech during a large military parade to mark the nation's Armed Forces Day on August 15.
Poland has repeatedly requested a permanent US military presence on its soil and has offered up to two billion US dollars to fund such a base.
The president also added that if the economy allows, Poland is willing to increase its own defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, above the current two percent NATO target, which Poland already meets.
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"NATO's eastern flank needs to be strengthened," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in July, indicating that Washington should help balance Moscow's growing influence in the region.
Last March, Poland signed its largest arms deal ever, agreeing with the United States to buy Raytheon Co's Patriot missile defense system for 4.75 billion dollars.
Though Poland keeps releasing positive wooing signals, the attitude of the US seems quite unclear.
"It completely depends on the theater and it completely depends on the threat perceived in that theater," the US Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli said at the Eurosatory defense trade show in June when asked what makes the most sense on the European continent.
US soldiers arrive at Zagan as part of NATO deployment, Zagan, Poland, January 12, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Under its Operation "Atlantic Resolve," the US has contributed more troops for deterrence in Eastern Europe, deploying temporarily a 3,500-strong armored brigade with 80 battle tanks to Poland in January 2017.
The US launched its first permanent military presence on Polish soil in 2012, as Warsaw pressed for what it sees as a security guarantee in the face of a more assertive Russia.
On the other hand, Russia is not happy with the interactions between Poland and the US.
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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that the US missile defense system deployed in 2016 in Romania and the planned deployment of similar facilities in Poland "undermine regional stability."
Russia is not the only one who is not satisfied with the Poland-US ties; the EU is also worried about the positive developments between the two.
The disagreements between the EU and Poland on immigration, judicial reform and environmental issues have made Poland increasingly isolated within the bloc, while the increasingly close Poland-US tie suggests that Trump could offer an implicit endorsement to Poland.
A banner of Jaroslaw Kaczynski's face with 'Shame' written on it during a protest against Supreme Court Reforms in Poland, is seen in Krakow, Poland, July 3, 2018. Kaczynski is leader of the ruling Polish Law and Justice (PiS) party. /VCG Photo
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Trump: America loves Poland
US President Donald Trump chose his second overseas trip as head of state with a visit to Poland in July last year, deepening divisions within Europe.
"This is the second foreign visit by President Trump and it starts in Poland. This shows we are a country that matters and it strengthens our position in the European Union," Duda said on public radio, Reuters reported.
"Poland is the geographic heart of Europe, but more importantly, in the Polish people, we see the soul of Europe," Trump said in his first public speech in Europe during the visit.
"Trump now risks undermining already very difficult situations in Poland and eastern Europe," commented Gianni Pitella, the former president of the European Parliament's Socialists & Democrats group.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady of the US Melania Trump, with Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady of Poland Agata Agata Kornhauser-Duda, at Krasinski Square, near the Warsaw Uprising Monument, July 6, 2017, in Warsaw, Poland. /VCG Photo
The relations between the US and Poland are not perfect, though the two sides support each other on many issues.
The anti-defamation bill signed by Duda in February made the US a little disappointed because the US believes it will adversely affect the freedom of speech and academic inquiry.
The bill proposes to jail or fine a person who blames Poland or the Poles for Nazi crimes against humanity which were committed in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II.
(Cover: Poland's President Andrzej Duda (R) and US President Donald Trump attend a news conference, July 6, 2017, at Royal Castle, in Warsaw. /AP Photo)
(CGTN's Su Chen contributed to this story)