US Secretary of State John Kerry (R), with Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna (L), after a meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, USA 07 January 2015. EPA/Shawm Thew
''We want to provide more support than up until now, but the specifics will be announced in February,'' Schetyna affirmed.
Asked by journalists whether this would entail a military engagement against the jihadist militants, Schetyna said that ''if there is an expectation on the part of the grand coalition, we are open to talk about it.
Poland joined the US-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it has not engaged in a military capacity against the Islamic State as of yet.
The US has been pushing for a broad international coalition against the Islamic State since the September 2014 NATO summit in Newport, Wales.
Kerry referred to Poland as ''a very important NATO member,'' adding that ''we are working on many, many issues in a very, very close bilateral way.''
Condemnation of Paris Attacks
Both Kerry and Schetyna condemned Wednesday's shootings at the Paris office of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
''I agree with the French imam who today called the slain journalists martyrs for liberty,'' Kerry said.
''Today’s murders are part of a larger confrontation, not between civilizations – no – but between civilization itself and those who are opposed to a civilized world.
''I know our friends in Poland understand these acts of terror and this challenge as well as any people, not just in Europe but on the planet,'' he reflected.
''Poland is a strong, stalwart advocate for and supporter of freedom and of democracy, and they’ve stood on the front lines for a long time in that effort.
''They understand the price of freedom and they understand the cost.''
Schetyna said that ''for sure we can say today that Washington can count on Warsaw, and I’m confident that Warsaw can count on Washington also.'' (nh)