By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose urged restraint on Friday amid a confrontation at Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, warning that the situation was "very serious."
"We appear to be witnessing an unprecedented confrontation over the government’s use of state power and the independence and authority of a constitutional institution," Rose wrote on US social media company X.
He said both sides offered sharply different accounts of what happened and why, and that thousands of people gathering outside the tribunal made an already dangerous situation more combustible.
"The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse," he said.
The envoy said the US is on Poland's side, but it has no right to judge or interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
He added that Washington's concern is for the stability, security and democratic future of a country it considers a friend and ally.
Rose urged government officials, law enforcement and demonstrators to "take a deep breath" and avoid any action that could provoke violence or further escalation.
"Poland’s strength ultimately must come from within," he said, citing its people, institutions and shared commitment to the rule of law.
Rose added that Poland has come too far and accomplished too much to let political differences put that progress at risk.
Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı