2020-09-10 16:46 update: 2020-09-11, 12:14
Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak. Phot. PAP/Rafał Guz
Poland will construct an infrastructure that will be able to house even more than 20,000 US troops, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday.
Quoting an August 15 agreement between Poland and the United States, Blaszczak said that the deal offers "a legal framework to make the US presence permanent."
"This is also a legal framework allowing an increase in the number of US troops in our country. An infrastructure will also be built to accommodate even more than 20,000 US troops in Poland," the defence minister said.
Referring to the US decision to make Poland's western city of Poznan the forward headquarters of the US Army's V Corps, Blaszczak said the decision was "good for the security of Poland but also for NATO eastern flank countries."
Blaszczak said that he and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper had agreed that the first V Corps soldiers would come to Poland in October.
Poznan already hosts the forward headquarters of the US 1st Infantry Division.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and US President Donald Trump have agreed to increase the number of US soldiers stationed in Poland from the current 4,500 to 5,500. (PAP)
