Moscow is closely monitoring Washington’s statements regarding the redeployment of the US troops from Germany to Poland and, if necessary, will take all measures to ensure Russia’s defense and security. This was announced by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.
On Wednesday, the United States leader Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda discussed the possible transfer of a portion of American troops from Germany to Poland. As Bloomberg reported, Trump intends to halve the number of US troops in Germany since Berlin has overdue its payments to NATO.
In response to this, Duda proposed the deployment of an American armored division in Poland on an ongoing basis, while the republic would incur costs – about $1.5-2 billion. This proposal was put forward outside of NATO bilaterally. The Polish leader proposed calling the base “Fort Trump”. According to The Washington Post, Trump said that part of the military will go to Poland, and the rest – to other European countries and the United States.
The deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow is closely monitoring Washington’s announcements regarding the relocation of part of the American contingent from Germany to Poland.
“Of course, we will look at this not only from the point of view of military consequences for regional security, taking into account the legitimate interests of Russia and our allies, primarily Belarus, but also from the angle of observing the fundamental position of the Russia-NATO Founding Act, which contains the alliance’s obligations to refrain from additional deployment of substantial combat forces”, – RIA Novosti quoted Grushko as saying.
The deputy minister noted that the United States “could violate this international document”. He recalled that Washington consistently destroys all the foundations of military security in Europe by withdrawing from the Treaty on intermediate and shorter-range missiles, officially announcing its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, and earlier also frustrating the ratification of the CFE Treaty adaptation agreement.
“Therefore, we will closely monitor what the US military will ultimately gain in Europe, and if necessary we will take all necessary measures to ensure the legitimate interests of Russia’s defense and security”, – the Russian deputy foreign minister concluded.
Earlier it was reported that Polish President Andrzej Duda said what the base with the US military in the country would look like.