Polish defence minister ‘optimistic’ about Fort Trump

Błaszczak was on Monday on a trip to Washington to discuss the plan, dubbed “Fort Trump”.

Warsaw wants more US troops in Poland amid fears of Russian aggression.

"Negotiations with our American partners are continuing, the atmosphere of these negotiations is good… I’m optimistic," Błaszczak said.

While in the United States, Błaszczak was expected to hold talks with President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Poland already hosts US troops on a rotating basis as part of NATO, and the Polish section of a US missile defence shield over Europe is being built by the Americans at Redzikowo in the north of the country.

Senior Polish parliamentarian Adam Bielan said last month that a decision on a possible new permanent US troop presence in Poland was likely to be made next year.

Błażej Spychalski, a spokesman for Polish President Andrzej Duda, said at the end of September that Warsaw wanted to spend about USD 2 billion to build infrastructure for American soldiers in Poland, including housing, educational and medical facilities.

Amid fears of Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, NATO decided at a Warsaw summit in July 2016 to deploy four rotating multinational battalions to Poland and the three Baltic states. (pk)

Source: IAR