The US Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, was speaking during a meeting on Tuesday with Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak in Warsaw.
McCarthy said, as quoted by the US embassy in Warsaw, that “enhancing [the American military] presence would ensure democracy, freedom, and respect for sovereignty.”
He added: “A deeper, more collaborative U.S.-Poland security partnership is critical in meeting current security threats and challenges.”
He was speaking on the day that joint Polish-US military exercises started in Drawsko Pomorskie, north-western Poland.
As part of the drills, run by the US Defense Department, an American armoured unit has been deployed to Poland to test the US army’s capacity for a quick military response.
Some 500 American soldiers are participating in the “Emergency Deployment Readiness” exercises, according to public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump indicated last month that some American troops stationed in Germany would be moved to Poland.
At a joint press conference following talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House, Trump said at the time that the two men had “reaffirmed the vital alliance” between their countries.
Amid fears of Russian aggression, the authorities in Warsaw have been making efforts to secure boosted US troop numbers in Poland, which lies on the eastern flank of NATO.
(pk)
Source: PAP/IAR