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Enhanced US air force in Poland till end of 2014

PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle 18.04.2014 08:45
US defence secretary Chuck Hagel said that an enhanced presence by the United States air force will be in Poland "to the end of the year" after talks with his Polish counterpart in Washington.

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US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) gestures toward Defense Minister of Poland Tomasz Siemoniak (R) during their joint news conference following their bilateral meeting at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 17 April 2014. Hagel and Siemoniak discussed how the Ukraine crisis affects the region and a planned missile defense system in Poland: photo - EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

"We’re committed to maintaining that augmented presence to the end of the year,” Hagel during a joint news conference at the Pentagon with Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak and called on NATO allies to add to the American F-16s and around 200 troops currently stationed at the Lask base in central Poland.

The United States is trying to reassure NATO allies in central and eastern Europe as the conflict in eastern Ukraine intensifies, with Poland pushing for a permanent NATO presence in the country, which has borders both with Ukraine and Russia.

"The current crisis makes us ensure that certain things are done faster and more completely," Tomasz Siemoniak said.

Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday that he is sending six CF-18 fighter jets to Poland, saying the jets are being sent “in response to a NATO request” as it expands its operations in eastern Europe.

Meanwhile, President Obama gave a cautious welcome to an agreement reaching during talks in Geneva, where the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union called for an immediate halt to violence in Ukraine.

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A handout picture provided by the US Department of State shows US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before a meeting on the Ukrainian crisis, in Geneva, Switzerland, 17 April: photo - EPA/US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

"All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions," a joint statement said. "All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated," the statement added.

"There is the possibility, the prospect, that diplomacy may de-escalate the situation," President Obama told reporters in Washington.

"The question now becomes, will in fact [Russia] use the influence they've exerted in a disruptive way to restore some order so that Ukrainians can carry out an election and move forward with the decentralization reforms that they've proposed," Obama said.

US in Poland

A poll for Polish Radio by the CBOS agency has found that 64 percent of Poles support an increased military presence by NATO allies in the country, with support for Poland's membership of the alliance increasing from 62 percent in February to 81 percent in April.

Since the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine, with Russia massing up to 40,000 troops on the Ukraine border and allegedly supporting pro-Russian groups taking over government buildings in up to 10 towns and cities in eastern Ukraine, the US has added rotations of F-16s in Poland for training missions and bolstered air policing over the Baltics.

NATO surveillance aircraft also has been deployed to Poland and Romania to monitor events in Ukraine. (pg)

tags: Ukraine
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