The US State Department announced the move in a statement on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“Poland is a stalwart U.S. Ally, and Poland’s security is vital to the collective defense of NATO’s Eastern Flank,” the statement said.
The US State Department added: “In addition to its central support role in facilitating international assistance to neighboring Ukraine, Poland has demonstrated its ironclad commitment to strengthening regional security through its robust investments in defense spending.”
Moreover, “Poland continues to demonstrate leadership in NATO on meeting the 2014 Wales Summit Defense Investment Pledge,” US officials said.
The State Department noted: “Poland plans to significantly expand the Polish Armed Forces; has divested its legacy Russian origin military equipment in favor of an ambitious multi-year, multi-billion-dollar defense modernization program; has concluded an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States; hosts Allied and U.S. forces, including the U.S.-led NATO Battlegroup and U.S. V Corps Headquarters (Forward); and actively participates in NATO missions across the region.”
According to the statement, “the U.S. government is providing up to $60 million in FMF [Foreign Military Financing] for the cost of this loan, which will help accelerate Poland’s defense modernization by supporting urgent procurements of defense articles and services from the United States.”
“FMF direct loans are a security cooperation tool reserved for some of our most important security cooperation partners,” the US State Department concluded.
The US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski took to social media to announce the USD 2 billion loan for Poland’s defence modernisation.
The US envoy wrote in Polish on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter: “The United States are proud to announce the signing of an important Foreign Military Financing (FMF) loan agreement to support Poland’s defence modernisation. Poland is a stalwart US ally and Poland’s security is vital to the collective defence of NATO’s eastern flank.”
Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland would spend over PLN 150 billion (EUR 32.6 billion), or 4.2% of GDP, on defence next year, the PAP news agency reported.
Monday is day 579 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: PAP, state.gov, polskieradio24.pl