The US Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has taken the unprecedented decision to immediately sever diplomatic contacts with the Speaker of the Polish Parliament, Wlodzimierz Czarzasty.
The US Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has taken the unprecedented decision to immediately sever diplomatic contacts with the Speaker of the Polish Sejm, Wlodzimierz Czarzasty**.**
"As of today, we will no longer maintain contact or communicate with Marshal Czarzisty of the Sejm," US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose announced.
Amb. Tom Rose did not specify what those alleged insults were, but Czarzasty had issued a public statement on Monday in which he said he would not support an initiative of his Israeli and American counterparts to nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Czarzasty is one of the leaders of a left-wing party in the liberal government led by Donald Tusk.
The US diplomat's statement, published on social media, stresses that the relationship with the New Left leader is a "serious obstacle" to the partnership between Washington and the government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
According to Ambassador Rose, the decision is immediate and applies to both official meetings and communications between the parties. The diplomat felt that Czarzasty's statements towards President Donald Trump - described as "outrageous and unwarranted insults" - violate the standards of respect his country expects from senior representatives of allied countries. The communiqué also included a call for respect for the US head of state and diplomatic principles, crucial to the stability of bilateral relations.
Czarzasty lambasted the idea of a Nobel prize for Trump
The escalation occurred after the Speaker of the Sejm openly declared that he would not support the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump, despite a published appeal from representatives of the US Congress and the Israeli Knesset. Czarzasty argued that Trump's political actions - in his view - are not conducive to peace and undermine existing norms of international law.
Czarzasty did not mince his words on Monday when he said Trump “does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.” He said Trump "represents power politics and, by the use of force, pursues transactional politics.” This often means “breaking international law,” the Polish politician added.
He criticized Trump for not recognizing enough the role Polish soldiers played in US military missions and for “the instrumental treatment of other territories," such as Greenland.
Trump's reimagining of the world's diplomacy was also met with criticism from Czarzasty : "The construction of new platforms by the United States, such as the Peace Council, is in my opinion illusory. We need to strengthen the European Union, NATO, the UN, WHO and ourselves".
Czarzasty srands his ground, Tusk meddles in
Czarzasty said on Thursday night that, despite respecting the US as a key ally for Poland, he would not change his position. He stressed that his decisions are based on an independent assessment of international issues and not on a desire to escalate Polish-US conflicts.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was quick to respond to Rose's announcement.
“Mr. Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture, each other,” Tusk wrote on X Thursday afternoon.
Rose, however, was undeterred. He replied to Tusk that, despite the Polish prime minister himself being “a model ally and great friend of the United States,” Czarzasty's comments “were so potentially damaging to your government.”
Insulting Trump, “the greatest friend Poland has ever had in the White House," was “the last thing” a Polish leader should do, Rose warned.
Consequences for Polish-US relations
Diplomacy experts point out that such a step by the US embassy is rare in allied relations, especially in the context of the long-standing partnership between Warsaw and Washington. This relationship, based on military cooperation and strategic security dialogue, could be put to the test if negative rhetoric begins to dominate key state institutions.
Much will now depend on whether the Polish side decides to de-escalate the dispute or whether the crisis moves to the parliamentary forum. Critics recall that such conflicts highlight the importance of maintaining a common platform for dialogue, even in the face of political differences between key allied players.
Ever since Trump came to power, Poland has had to walk a fine line between defending its European allies while not upsetting its most powerful ally, the United States, on which peace in neighboring Ukraine depends. Warsaw has so far managed to do this by having Tusk handle European Union matters and letting President Karol Nawrocki, who came to power supported by the national-conservative opposition party Law and Justice, connect with Trump.
Nawrocki enjoys good relationships with Trump, who endorsed him during the electoral campaign for presidency last year, and invited him to the White House soon after the Pole took office. As the two presidents sat side by side in September in the White House, Trump declared he does not intend to pull US troops out of Poland, a sign of support for the new president and his aims. “We’ll put more there if they want,” Trump even said.
Earlier this week, Nawrocki called a meeting of a national security body to discuss, among others, whether Poland should join Trump’s Board of Peace as well as to clarify alleged “eastern business and social contacts” of Czarzasty. The parliament speaker denies any nefarious relationships in Russia or Belarus.
Law and Justice, the main opposition party in Poland, which supported Nawrocki's presidential bid, is hoping to regain power in parliamentary elections next year. Weakening Tusk's coalition partners is part of its strategy.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request from Associated Press to comment.