24.09.2019
“President Trump and Polish
President Andrzej Duda signed yesterday a defense agreement Monday that will
shift U.S. soldiers into Poland at the Eastern European nation’s expense,” Tom
Howell Jr. reports in The Washington
Times. “They’re going to be building us facilities that I’m sure will be
very beautiful,” the President said in a bilateral meeting at the U.N. General
Assembly. “During a White House visit in June, Mr. Duda said Poland agreed to
house about 1,000 U.S. soldiers on its soil. Mr. Trump also said the U.S. is
making Poland eligible for the visa-waiver program to ease travel between the
countries.”
Trump confirms more US troops will be sent to Poland
The US troop presence in Poland will expand by 1,000, in addition to
the 4,500 soldiers rotating through the country. The contingent could be
enlarged by moving soldiers currently stationed in Germany.
US troops in Poland (Getty Images)
The United States will likely move troops to Poland from other bases in
Europe, President Donald Trump said Monday as he signed a defense deal with his
Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda.
Meeting on the sidelines of the US General Assembly in New York, the
two leaders signed a Joint Declaration on Advancing Defense Cooperation that
builds on a framework deal reached in June.
The United States currently has 4,500 rotational troops in Poland. That
number is "expected to grow by approximately 1,000 additional United
States military personnel in the near term," according to the joint
declaration.
Trump said the new troops would "most likely" be transferred
from other European bases.
The United States has about 35,000 troops stationed in Germany. In
June, Trump suggested additional soldiers to be sent to Poland could be pulled
from Germany, which the president has repeatedly criticized over NATO defense
spending targets.
Trump says Poland paying for military presence
According to the joint
declaration, six sites in Poland have been identified for enhancement to host
US troops and the two sides are in talks to find a location for an armored
brigade combat team.
Poland is "going to be
building us facilities that I'm sure are going to be very beautiful,"
Trump said. "They'll be bearing the entire expense."
Trump claimed the enhanced US
military presence is not to counter Russia, whose annexation of Crimea and
involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine caused jitters in NATO member Poland.
He also said that the United
States was working on providing visa waivers for Poland, whose citizens need a
visa to enter the United States despite being a member of the EU's
passport-free Schengen zone.
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