Poland's right-wing President Andrzej Duda and US presidential candidate Donald Trump declared their friendship at a dinner in New York on Wednesday night.
"It was a friendly meeting in a very nice atmosphere," Duda said after the meal.
Duda, who is a loyal former member of the nationalist conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), has never made a secret of his admiration for the real-estate tycoon turned reality TV star and former US president.
Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House for the Republicans in November's election amid a slew of criminal probes, had invited Duda to his Manhattan apartment in Trump Tower.
"He's done a fantastic job and he's my friend," Trump said of Duda. "We had four great years together."
The meeting did not go down well with many in Poland, where Trump's Russia-friendly rhetoric and seeming indifference to US and European security ties is a cause for concern.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose centrist government came to power after defeating PiS in elections last year, criticized Duda's dinner with Trump.
"Almost everyone in Poland realizes that a possible victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election would be unfavourable for the security of Poland, Europe and the future of NATO," Tusk said, adding Trump had repeatedly shown his anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian bias.
Tusk added in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that he trusted that Duda had taken up the recommendation of the Polish government and presented Poland's position on security issues clearly to Trump during the meeting in New York.
"In these matters, we need maximum agreement and minimum controversy. Even if we choose different interlocutors," Tusk wrote.
