Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Polish President Andrzej Duda welcomed on Wednesday US President Joe Biden’s announcement to increase military presence in Poland.
Speaking at a press conference in Warsaw, Duda reminded that Poland wants stronger US military presence to serve as deterrence to Russia, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
According to Biden’s announcement at the NATO summit in Madrid earlier on Wednesday, the US will establish the 5th Army headquarters in Poland.
At the summit, Biden announced plans to increase military presence across Europe in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
“This is news that we have been waiting for for a long time,” Duda noted and added “it is a fact that strengthens our safety a lot… in the difficult situation which we are in.”
Poland has been advocating for stronger NATO presence on its eastern flank since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Warsaw previously stressed the importance of the move for security of Central Europe, pointing to Russia’s growing assertiveness and calling on the US to establish a permanent base in the country.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz commented on the announcement, stressing “something that seemed impossible to many is becoming a fact today.”
Message to Moscow
He pointed out that a permanent US base in Poland will send “a clear signal to Moscow.”
Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the ruling Law and Justice party, stated in April that Poland would welcome deployment of US nuclear weapons in the country.
He added that Warsaw supports a 50-percent increase of the number of US troops in European bases. Moscow criticised Kaczyński’s statement.
Thus far, the US has kept roughly 4,500 troops in Poland, partly in NATO and partly in bilateral capacity. Since the war in Ukraine broke out, the US temporarily deployed additional troops and equipment in Poland.
Washington note in June that NATO had roughly 11,600 troops in Poland, which includes troops from other NATO countries.
Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine and Belarus, proposed in 2018 to name a potential US military base in the country in honour of then US President Donald Trump, but the plan did not come to fruition.
