US President Donald Trump is due to give a major speech in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, laying out his vision for America’s relations with Europe.
He can expect a warm welcome in the city’s historic Krasinski Square as Poland’s conservative government shares his hostile view of immigration and strong sense of national sovereignty.
He is also expected to promote US gas as an alternative to Russian energy.
The visit comes ahead of a G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany.
Security in Hamburg has been tightened, with 10,000 people expected to gather for protests during the day and police warning of potentially violent clashes. They have already confiscated a number of homemade weapons.
Mr Trump’s day began with the Three Seas summit – a Polish and Croatian initiative bringing together 12 nations between the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Black Sea.
Mr Trump was expected to bang the drum for US trade, telling the gathering that US gas imports could reduce their reliance on Russia.
The Polish government is trying to become less energy-dependent on Russia, and last month the first ever US liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment arrived.
A global glut in supply, however, has depressed prices and made it difficult for LNG exporters to turn a profit, Adam Sieminski, an energy analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Warsaw and three Baltic states have spoken against the construction of an offshore Russian gas pipeline to Germany, known as Nord Stream 2.
“Europe is going to be the great competitive arena between Russian gas and LNG,” oil historian Daniel Yergin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
What will Trump say about Europe?
In a speech at the monument to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising on Krasinski Square, he is expected to urge the EU to take inspiration from Poland’s resistance to the Nazis.
He will also reaffirm US support for Eastern Europe ahead of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg, the BBC’s James Landale in Warsaw reports.
Mr Putin called for an end to sanctions against Russia as well as trade protectionism in an editorial published in German newspaper Handelsblatt.
The big question will be how strongly Mr Trump will emphasise America’s commitment to Nato’s mutual defence, our correspondent says.
Mr Trump once described Nato as an “obsolete” alliance, criticising other members for not spending more on defence.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
