Trump, Polish counterpart Duda discuss sending US troops to Poland from Germany

US President Donald Trump met his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, in Washington on June 24 where they exchanged ideas on expanding the close cooperation between the two nations, according to the White House. After the meeting at Oval Office, Trump told a news conference that he may send some of the US troops stationed in Germany to Poland.

Recently, Trump had said that he would cut the number of troops in Germany to 25,000, blaming the European ally for failing in its commitments. All members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had set a goal in 2014 to spend at least 2 per cent of the GDP on defence by 2025 but Germany hopes to meet the target by 2031.

“We’re going to be reducing our forces in Germany. Some will be coming home and some will be going to other places, but Poland would be one of those other places,” said Trump.

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Pre-poll visit

The Polish President, who became the first foreign leader to visit Trump since the global lockdowns due to coronavirus pandemic, faces a tough challenge for the nationwide presidential elections scheduled on June 28. Duda’s visit to the US is seen as an attempt to boost his chances of re-election.

Duda said that there is a possibility of a further increase in American troops in Poland, saying it was an honour to discuss next step of bilateral relationship at the White House. According to Polish media reports, Trump could offer 2,000 US troops to Poland, double the number initially agreed in June 2019. 

The White House said in a statement that the two leaders discussed progress on defeating the coronavirus pandemic and reopening the US and Poland, as well as boosting global economies. They also agreed to work together to strengthen economic resilience, protect critical infrastructure, and diversify supply chains.

“The two leaders agreed to do more and work closely with international partners to protect global telecommunications infrastructure in the 5G era,” the statement read.

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(Image: AP)