Odd Man Out? Poland Fears Becoming 'Third-Ranking Country' in NATO, EU

The Polish Foreign Minister had to defend its government’s policy record after President Andrzej Duda could not meet one-on-one with American leader Barack Obama.

Witold Waszczykowski said the country has abandoned its "servile attitude" when it comes to relations with Washington. At the same time, Polish opposition figures insist that the US is decreasing contacts with Warsaw due to its latest political moves, an article in Politico read.

According to the article, in his speech the foreign minister used a phrase which is equally insulting in both Polish and English. He said that Poland had abandoned its "murzyńskości" (loose translation is slave mentality, or servile attitude) in relations with the US.

Meanwhile, the Polish political opposition has been concerned over indications of tensions between Warsaw and Washington which put in doubt the aspiration for NATO military buildup in Central Europe.

"We will become a third-ranking country in NATO and the EU. We can see it already in international relations, including with our most important partner — the United States," Ryszard Petru, leader of the Modern opposition party, said in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper.

At the same time, Prime Minister Beata Szedlo commented that the phrase used by Waszczykowski was originally coined by former Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and is an "unfortunate term" for a diplomat.

Ties between Warsaw and Washington have been in trouble since the right-wing Law and Justice Party came to power in Poland.

The US has criticized Poland for tightening government control over the Polish Constitutional Court and public media. Meanwhile, Warsaw hopes to strengthen US commitment to beef up NATO’s military presence in Central Europe.