NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) — President Joe Biden called an “emergency meeting” of the Group of Seven and NATO leaders in Indonesia Wednesday morning for consultations after NATO ally Poland said a “Russian-made” missile killed two people in the eastern part from his country near the border with Ukraine.
Biden, who was awakened overnight by staff with the news of the missile explosion while in Indonesia for the Group of 20 summit, called Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday asking to express his “deep condolences” for the loss of human lives. Biden pledged on Twitter “full U.S. support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation” and “reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to NATO.”
Meeting at a large round table in a ballroom in his hotel, the US President received the leaders of the G-7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union, along with the President of the European Council and the Prime Ministers of NATO allies Spain and the Netherlands.
Biden replied “no” to reporters who asked if he would provide an update on the situation in Poland.
A statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry identified the missile as being made in Russia. But Poland’s president Duda was more cautious about its origins, saying officials weren’t sure who fired it or where it was made. He said it was “most likely” Russian-made, but that is still being verified. If confirmed, it would be the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that a Russian weapon has come down on a NATO country.
The basis of the NATO alliance is the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all of them.
