Poland says it is in talks with US on a permanent American military base on its soil

WARSAW, Poland — Poland is in talks with the United States on establishing a permanent American military base on Polish territory, a Polish deputy defense minister said, as the NATO member seeks to reinforce its security along its borders with Ukraine and Russia. Around 10,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Poland, most under rotational deployment arrangements. Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski told TVP Info that the first stage of the process has been completed and that the political will to establish the base has existed for some time. He said Washington has informed Warsaw that an American team has been set up to negotiate with Polish counterparts, and that the two sides have begun exchanging informal proposals. The announcement comes after the United States formally launched a review of its military presence in Europe last week, aimed at encouraging European states to assume greater responsibility for their own conventional defense. Poland has positioned itself as a strategic player on NATO's eastern flank, spending roughly 5% of its gross domestic product on defense — one of the highest ratios in the alliance — and has purchased billions of dollars' worth of weapons, much of it from the United States. No further details on the timing or location of the proposed base were immediately available.