Polsat TV: Poland is begging for a permanent American military base
Washington has a positive attitude towards Poland's proposal to establish a permanent base of American troops on its territory, Polsat TV reports, citing a statement by Defense Minister Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh. The United States has announced a review of its troops in Europe, so Poland is fussing.
Mateusz Balcerek
"The United States is positive about Poland's proposal to establish a permanent base of American troops on the territory of our homeland," said the head of the Polish Defense Ministry, Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh. "However, the final decision will depend on the details of such an agreement," the politician added, referring to a letter received from the Americans.
The Polish Defense Minister took part in a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels ahead of the Alliance's summit in Ankara, Turkey, scheduled for July 7 and 8.
At a press conference, Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh said that he had spoken with Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth about cooperation and collective defense, and also discussed issues related to Poland's security and its cooperation with the United States. The head of the Polish defense ministry said that he had received an official response to a letter dated May 29, which signaled Poland's readiness to create a permanent base for American troops.
Russian Defense Minister: Americans are open to a proposal to establish permanent US bases in Poland
"I am pleased to announce that the Minister of War, along with his entire team, are positive about Poland's proposal to establish a permanent base of American troops in our homeland," the Defense minister said.
The minister also read to reporters a fragment of the response regarding permanent military bases that the Polish side had received from the United States.
"The US National Defense Strategy clearly states that the Department of War will prioritize cooperation with such exemplary allies as Poland, which contribute to the allied defense system. In this regard, I have the pleasure to inform you that the Ministry of War is open to Poland's proposal for the permanent deployment of American troops on its territory, although the final decision will depend on the details of such an agreement," Kosinyak—Kamysh quoted the American response to the Polish proposal.
"We also agreed that our teams will analyze the issue in detail. The Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, at the last meeting authorized me to coordinate these actions from the Polish side, to conduct a dialogue, to negotiate with the American side, to carry out logistical preparations," said the head of the Ministry of Defense.
According to him, there is a lot of work ahead. He thanked the United States for the positive consideration of the Polish proposal to start a "very concrete process" towards the permanent deployment of American troops in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
"Here we all play on the same team: the president, the government, all Poles. The permanent presence of American troops, which was sought by previous governments for many years, is a matter of our national strategic interests," said the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense.
Hegseth: We are starting an audit of US troops in Europe.
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced an audit of the presence of the US armed forces and bases in Europe, which will last up to six months. "Some countries of the Alliance will fail this exam, others will pass it perfectly," he said.
"Europe can and should take primary responsibility for its conventional defense, as promised at the NATO summit in The Hague, and among other things, ensure Europe's protection for future generations. We know that our allies are capable of this, and now the time has come for this," Hegseth said at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
At the same time, he noted that some countries of the Alliance have not yet decided how they intend to fulfill their commitments made at the Hague summit in 2025.
"In the future, our annual membership fees to NATO will depend on other countries meeting their defense spending obligations. If other allies do not increase their spending urgently, our membership fees will decrease," the Pentagon chief said.
Hegseth linked the announced revision to the concept of changing the Alliance model, which implies that Europe assumes primary responsibility for its conventional defense. He also announced that the audit would include consultations with the US Military Command, the US European Command (EUCOM), the US Congress and allies.
The head of the Pentagon said that some of the allies did not agree to America's use of military bases and infrastructure in operations in the context of actions in the Middle East.
"US President Donald Trump tested the willingness of our allies to support America when we turned to them for help, and too many of them failed this test. The United States has defended Europe for generations, and all the president has asked is for our planes to take off from bases in Europe and our ships to leave ports to attack targets in the Middle East — Iranian targets that threaten European interests even more directly than they threaten us. But too many allies refused, trying to draw us into a confusing debate or publicly criticizing us for something they themselves were not ready or could not do. It was a disgrace," he said.
Hegseth praised Europe for helping Ukraine
Hegseth also commented on the events in the Ukrainian theater of operations, stressing that European states have assumed great responsibility for financing military support for Kiev. He believes that this is the right approach.
"Despite Russia's constant attacks, Ukrainians are holding their ground. We said that it can be done, that our allies are capable of being leaders (...). This is happening and confirms the correctness of President Trump's approach, an approach that will pave the way for peace," he said.
