Permament US military base considered in Poland: Minister

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WARSAW: Poland - which borders both Ukraine and Russia - is holding talks with Washington on whether to establish a permanent American base on its territory, Warsaw's deputy defence minister said Wednesday (Aug 5).

Almost 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in the NATO and EU member state, almost exclusively on a rotational basis.

Last week, the United States launched a formal review of its military presence in Europe, aimed at pushing the continent to assume "primary responsibility for its conventional defence".

But Poland - which plays a strategic role on NATO's Eastern flank and allocates around 5 per cent of its GDP to defence - is working to strengthen the US's presence on its soil.

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"We have already completed the initial stage (of the process), not to mention the political will, which was expressed long ago," Polish deputy defence minister Pawel Zalewski told public broadcaster TVP.

He added that Warsaw had been informed by Washington "of the creation of an American team that will ... be (Poland's) partner" in the talks.

The United States and Poland are already exchanging "proposals," he said, clarifying they are "not yet official".

Washington has levied heavy criticism against a number of European countries that refused to allow US forces to use NATO bases on their territory in their war with Iran.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had also threatened to reduce his country's contribution to the Alliance's budget if certain states refused to honour the commitments made last year at the NATO summit in The Hague.

At that summit, NATO Allies pledged to devote by 2035 at least 5 per cent of their GDP to security spending, including 3.5 per cent devoted strictly to military expenditures.

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