US military presence key to security in Europe: Polish FM

Speaking at an international conference in Warsaw, Jacek Czaputowicz said that there were differences in how security was understood in the United States and some European countries, according to the Polish foreign ministry.

He added: “We feel solidarity with our European partners, but at the same time we take into consideration the US viewpoint and the US perspective of global security threats."

Czaputowicz told the Warsaw Security Forum conference that Poland welcomed recent EU initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF), but said that these should be synergic with NATO activities.

"The European Union should invest more in improving its military capabilities," Czaputowicz said on Wednesday, as quoted by the Polish foreign ministry.

Czaputowicz told NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday that a strengthened US military presence in Poland would help "strengthen the security of our country, of the entire region and of the entire North Atlantic Alliance."

Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak is next week expected to hold talks with US National Security Adviser John Bolton about strengthening mutual cooperation and a plan for “Fort Trump," a possible permanent US military base in Poland, according to public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency.

(gs/pk)

Source: msz.gov.pl