Polish President Andrzej Duda used a joint White House visit with his political rival, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, to call on NATO allies to significantly increase defense spending and press a divided Washington to break its impasse over replenishing funds for Ukraine at a critical moment in the war in Europe, writes AP NEWS.

Duda wants members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to 3% of their GDP as Russia puts its own economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its plans to conquer Ukraine. Poland already spends 4% of its own economic output on defense, double the current target of 2% for NATO nations.

The Polish leader made the call as he and Tusk visited Washington to mark their country’s 25th anniversary of joining the now 32-member transatlantic military alliance. It was a historic step into the West after breaking free from Moscow’s sphere of influence after decades of communist rule.

“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine really demonstrated that United States is and should remain the security leader”, - Duda said. “But other allies must take more responsibility for the security of the alliance as a whole. Two percent was good 10 years ago. Now 3% is required in response for the full scale war launched by Russia right beyond NATO’s eastern border”.