European Interest

Baltic states back US base in Poland

Flickr/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland/CC BY-NC 2.0
Speaking to reporters, Poland’s Czaputowicz explained how the presence of US troops in the region could prove a key deterrent.

The idea of a permanent US military base being established in Poland has been welcomed by the Baltic states, according to a report on Polish Radio online.

The prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia joined Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz for a press conference in Tallinn on June 4.

All three heads of government, Lithuania’s Saulius Skvernelis, Latvia’s Māris Kučinskis and Estonia’s Jüri Ratas voiced their approval of building a permanent US military base in Poland, the broadcaster said.

“From the Estonian point of view, the presence of US troops in Poland and the Baltic states is very important,” Estonia’s Ratas was quoted as saying by Polish Radio’s IAR news agency.

The Estonian prime minister added: “We will be happy to see the US become more active in Poland”.

Speaking to reporters, Poland’s Czaputowicz explained how the presence of US troops in the region could prove a key deterrent.

“We would like this presence to be lasting and permanent and to be greater in the military sense,” Czaputowicz was quoted as saying by IAR. “We want to create the maximum conditions for the United States to be able to function on a constant and permanent basis here.”

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