Polish President Andrzej Duda and US leader Donald Trump signed a military agreement on locations for more American troops in Poland when they met in New York on Monday.
The "Joint Declaration on Advancing Defense Cooperation" approved by the two leaders includes details of a planned increase in the US military presence and names sites for the stationing of American troops in Poland.
Under the document, a US division headquarters will be established in Poland's western city of Poznań, alongside a range of facilities in other locations.
Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said in a media interview on Thursday that the US Army's division-level headquarters would now be based in Poland’s Poznań.
Błaszczak told public broadcaster Polish Radio in the interview that the headquarters was previously located in Germany.
“Now it will be Poznań from where the American commanding officer, a general, will oversee US troops both in Poland and elsewhere in our part of Europe, along the eastern flank” of NATO, Błaszczak said.
The new US Division Headquarters (Forward) in Poland’s Poznań will be deployed on the basis of the existing Mission Command Element, which was transferred to the Polish city from Germany two years ago, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Warsaw and Washington pledged to “continue to develop the plan to bolster Polish–United States military ties and United States defense and deterrence capabilities in Poland,” under the declaration approved by the two countries’ presidents this week.
“These capabilities presently include approximately 4,500 rotational United States military personnel,” the declaration said.
It added that “this enduring presence is expected to grow by approximately 1,000 additional United States military personnel in the near term.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday that his country enjoyed a win-win relationship with America, an alliance in which both countries benefit from pursuing their convergent interests.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR