Trump says ‘major progress’ made towards US base in Poland

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that there had been "major progress" towards establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland, following Warsaw's talks with Washington on the matter. Trump attributed the progress to "the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland." He added that if the base were to be set up, its location would be announced soon, emphasizing it as a "historic step" for the U.S./Polish Alliance.

This announcement comes amid his administration's review of military presence in Europe, which has raised concerns among allies about potential reductions in their forces. However, Poland, situated on NATO's eastern flank and bordering Ukraine and Russia, is actively seeking to strengthen U.S. presence on its territory. Polish Deputy Defence Minister Pawel Zalewski revealed in August that talks with the U.S. were already underway regarding the establishment of a permanent U.S. base within Poland.

Currently, around 10,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in Poland, mostly in rotating assignments. Polish President Nawrocki, a conservative ally of Trump, visited the White House last year, during which Trump offered to deploy more troops to Poland. Washington has criticized several European countries for refusing to allow U.S. forces to use NATO bases on their soil during the Iran conflict.

In response, the U.S. Defence Secretary threatened to cut contributions to NATO's budget if certain states failed to honor commitments made at the NATO summit in The Hague.