Poland in talks with US to establish permanent American military base

Poland is in discussions with the United States on the possibility of setting up a permanent American military base on its territory, Deputy Defence Minister Pawel Zalewski has said.

The development comes as Washington reviews its military deployment across Europe while encouraging allies to take on a larger share of the continent’s defence burden.

Speaking to public broadcaster TVP, Zalewski said the initial phase of the process had already been completed and that both countries had expressed the political will to move the proposal forward.

He added that Poland had been informed by the United States about the formation of a dedicated American team that would work with Warsaw during the negotiations.

According to Zalewski, the two sides are already exchanging proposals, although he clarified that the discussions remain unofficial at this stage.

Nearly 10,000 US troops are currently deployed in Poland, most of them on a rotational basis. Warsaw has long sought a more permanent American military presence, citing its strategic location on Nato’s eastern flank bordering both Ukraine and Russia.

Last week, the United States launched a formal review of its military presence in Europe, aimed at shifting greater responsibility for conventional defence to European allies.

The discussions also come after Washington criticised several European countries for refusing to allow US forces to use Nato bases on their territory during the conflict with Iran.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has also warned that Washington could reduce its financial contribution to Nato if member states fail to honour defence spending commitments agreed at last year’s Nato summit in The Hague.

Under that agreement, Nato members pledged to allocate 5 per cent of GDP to security spending by 2035, including 3.5 per cent dedicated to core military expenditure.

With inputs from agencies