President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the United States will deploy 1,000 additional troops in Poland, a move that may raise security concerns from Russia.
Trump announced the troop deployment at a news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the White House Rose Garden shortly after the two leaders signed a joint declaration affirming defence cooperation, Al Jazeera reported.
Poland will buy 32 F-35 advanced warplanes, the US President said while lauding Warsaw for increased defence spending to meet its NATO commitments.
Meanwhile, Duda, who is considering naming the US military camp in Poland as "Fort Trump", said that the new influx of troops was needed because of Moscow's past aggression against Poland and to help solidify his country's ties to the West.
Duda said, "Russia again is showing its unkind, unfriendly imperial face. Russia is always looking out to take our territory."
Poland, which joined NATO in 1999, currently hosts around 4,500 US troops as part of a 2016 agreement with the NATO in response to Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Poland's eastern neighbour Ukraine in 2014. The country has also been lobbying for a permanent US military base on Polish soil and even offering to pay USD two billion, Xinhua reported.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement welcoming the decision to deploy more troops.
"Today's announcement is part of NATO's measured, defensive and proportionate efforts to strengthen our deterrence and defence," Stoltenberg said.