"It’s premature to comment on the proposal of placing permanent US Army base in Poland," said the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. In his opinion, NATO needs more details to be able to take a position.
Stoltenberg stressed that American troops are already present in Poland on a rotation basis, while their general presence in Europe is increasing. He refused to give a direct opinion on Warsaw’s proposal. He only reminded that he discussed the issue with Polish authorities during NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Warsaw.
At a press conference before tomorrow’s meeting of defence ministers of NATO member-states, Stoltenberg informed that the participants will make a few important decisions that will prepare the NATO summit in July, as well as decisions regarding the locations of two new joint command centres.
Two centres
The joint force command centre for the Atlantic that would be responsible for protecting communication routes between Europe and North America is planned to be located in Norfolk, Virginia, home of US Navy biggest base.
The new enabling command centre will be established in Ulm in south Germany (Baden-Württemberg), where a multinational NATO joint command is already set up. Among the main tasks of the command centre will be improving of logistic possibilities of NATO, especially relocation of military equipment and troops within the European soil.
"Still on the table"
Both command centres are supposed to enable NATO to quickly relocate equipment and troops "to the right places at the right time". After establishing the centres, the number of personnel in command structures will be increased up to 1200 people.
As part of the reform of NATO command structure, Poland expressed interest in hosting land forces command. According to unofficial information, it could be located in Multinational Corps Northeast headquarters in Szczecin. In the interview for Polish Press Agency in late May, Stoltenberg said that no decision on this matter has yet been made and the "offer is still on the table".
Autor: gf / Źródło: PAP, TVN24, NATO Channel, Reuters