Three in four Germans oppose NATO bases in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
26.06.2014 09:46
An opinion poll in Germany has found that 74 percent oppose permanent NATO bases in Poland, Lithuania, Lavia and Estonia.
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The survey by the Forsa pollsters for the Internationale Politik magazine found that just 18 percent of Germans support the idea of NATO bases in Poland and the Baltics, with opposition to the idea strongest in the former communist east of Germany.
Poland's foreign minister Radek Sikorski said he would be happy if “two heavy brigades” of NATO troops would be stationed in the country following the crisis in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he “can’t imagine foreign troops being deployed on our territory in the form of some bases.”
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has also said he sees no need for NATO troops to be permanently stationed in the Czech Republic.
While in Poland for 25th anniversary celebrations of the end of communism, US president Barack Obama said he would ask Congress for an extra 1 billion dollars to be spent on beefing up defences n the central and eastern European region. (pg)