Poland in talks on permanent US military base, minister says

Poland is in talks with Washington about whether to establish a permanent US military base on Polish territory, Deputy Defence Minister Pawel Zalewski said Wednesday.

Zalewski told public broadcaster TVP that an initial stage had been completed and that Washington had informed Warsaw it was creating an American team to work with Poland in the talks. He said the two sides were exchanging proposals, but that they were not yet official.

Almost 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Poland, almost all on a rotational basis. Poland is a NATO and EU member, borders Ukraine and Russia, and allocates around 5% of its GDP to defence.

The United States launched a formal review of its military presence in Europe last week. NATO allies pledged at a summit in The Hague to spend at least 5% of GDP on security by 2035, including 3.5% for military expenditure.