Warsaw wants allies to be informed over US troops in Poland: FM

23.10.2018 07:30

Poland’s top diplomat has said he wants allies to be informed about Warsaw’s efforts to secure a strengthened US military presence in his country.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz. Photo: SEBASTIAN INDRA/MSZ

“We believe that the measures we are taking with respect to the possible stationing of US troops in Poland in a larger capacity help to strengthen the security of our country, of the entire region and of the entire North Atlantic Alliance,” Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said during a meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Monday.

“We want this process to be transparent. We want the Allies to be informed about our efforts and to explain our intentions to them,” said Czaputowicz, as cited by the Polish foreign ministry website.

Czaputowicz added that US troops were already permanently stationed in Redzikowo, northern Poland, “and 3,000 Americans are stationed on a rotational basis in our country.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda suggested in a media interview this month that a possible new permanent US military base in Poland could effectively be a done deal.

Senior Polish parliamentarian Adam Bielan said last month that a decision on a possible new permanent US troop presence in Poland was likely to be made next year.

Błażej Spychalski, a spokesman for the Polish president, said at the end of September that Warsaw wanted to spend about USD 2 billion to build infrastructure for American soldiers in Poland, including “housing, educational facilities, medical facilities.”