Poland expects a decision on NATO base by spring 2019
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz hopes that the decision on the deployment of a NATO base will be made in spring 2019.
The diplomat said that there is a need for investments to expand and adapt the existing infrastructure. In addition, no decision on the location of the new base has been made. This largely depends on the position of the US Congress and the conclusions of the administrations of the US President and the Pentagon, Czaputowicz stressed.
When asked when it is expected for a permanent American base to be deployed in Poland, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry said that 3,000 soldiers of the Alliance “are already in the country”. He added that since the “Russian threat is closer to Poland”, the authorities of the country want the NATO troops to permanently stay in the country.
Czaputowicz said that the “decision on the deployment of NATO forces (including American soldiers) was made in 2016 after the aggression against Ukraine”. According to the politician, the “Russian military exercises in the Baltic and the Kaliningrad Oblast pose a threat from the Russian side”.