Deputy defence minister on permanent US base in Poland: “All signs indicate there will be an agreement”

Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Zalewski said on RMF FM that he expects a decision on a permanent base for American troops in Poland. “All the signs in heaven and on earth indicate that this agreement will happen,” he said. According to him, it is a matter of Poland's national security and is being treated very seriously.

Washington has not yet decided whether such a base will be built. Zalewski said he does not want to prejudge anything but, judging by the atmosphere of the talks and the support of American politicians of both parties, he is sure a decision will be made.

He also said that after the November US midterm elections a meeting between Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is possible. Cooperation with the Americans, in the deputy minister's words, is going excellently.

Zalewski also commented on the law on the state's readiness for war being prepared at the Defence Ministry: calling it “pre-war”, he said, is wrong — it concerns shortening decision-making times and rapid-response mechanisms, including to hybrid threats.