Warsaw, Washington near to deal for more US troops in Poland: report

But the two countries have not agreed on who will pay for any new military facilities or on how long the US troops will stay in Poland, the agency added.

Amid fears of Russian aggression, the authorities in Warsaw have been making intense efforts to secure a boosted American troop presence in Poland, which lies on NATO’s eastern flank.

Polish President Andrzej Duda and US leader Donald Trump are expected to meet at the White House on June 12.

Polish and American officials hope a deal will be approved during Duda’s trip to the United States, according to Reuters.

Not 'Fort Trump'?

But the news agency cited officials as saying that the agreement will not resemble Duda’s original request for a permanent American base in Poland dubbed “Fort Trump” by the media.

Reuters reported that two US officials have said Washington and Warsaw were close to a deal that would see the number of non-permanent American troops in Poland increase by between 1,000 and 1,500.

Around 4,500 rotating US troops are stationed in Poland on average as part of a NATO force, the agency noted.

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 Baltic states.

(pk/gs)

Source: Reuters