The US is interested in Warsaw's proposal to build a permanent military base in Poland, the Polish Deputy Minister of Defense said in an interview with the Associated Press, BTA reported.
Cesary Tomczyk announced this news a day after the Polish government made an official proposal to Washington.
"The Americans are interested in the Polish proposal to establish a permanent base here," Tomczyk said.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kościńska-Kamiś said that Warsaw is doing everything in its power in this direction and that the final word is with the US.
There are about 10,000 US servicemen stationed in Poland, most of whom reside in the country on a rotational basis. Warsaw hopes that if the US reviews its military presence in Europe, thousands of US troops will be permanently stationed in Poland.
The US last month abruptly postponed the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland, despite the White House calling the country an "model ally" after its defense budget met NATO targets. Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened Germany with the withdrawal of all US forces from its territory.
The reduction in the number of US troops in Poland caused consternation on both sides of the Atlantic, and Tomczyk, along with other Polish delegates, immediately flew to Washington for negotiations. The Polish deputy minister was still in the US capital when Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that the US would send 5,000 troops to Poland. Washington has since confirmed that it is reorganizing its military presence in Europe, without providing further details. Subsequently, several representatives of the Polish Defense Ministry have signaled that they believe there is a possibility of increasing the number of troops permanently present in the country.
"Sometimes the rotational model can become a permanent model, and that is much better," Koszyniak-Kamiś said in mid-May.