Polish Defence Minister's Pentagon Visit Postponed After 'Urgent' US Request
A visit by Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz to the Pentagon, planned for Wednesday, has been rescheduled after an urgent request from Washington tied to new NATO security measures.
Poland's Ministry of Defence has announced that Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz's Wednesday visit to Washington, where he was due to meet US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been moved to a later date. The ministry cited an urgent request from the American side as the reason.
According to the ministry, signals from Washington and a recent meeting of NATO chiefs of staff created an urgent need to introduce new security measures for Alliance member states. A new date for the visit is currently being arranged.
The two ministers had been expected to discuss several key issues, including a permanent presence of US troops in Poland and the establishment of a maintenance center on Polish territory for missiles used in Patriot (PAC-3) air defense systems.
While the minister's own trip is being delayed, Polish deputy defence ministers Magdalena Sobkowiak and Paweł Zalewski are still travelling to Washington. They are expected to hold talks with American counterparts and continue preparing further cooperation agreements.
Background
On June 3 this year, Kosiniak-Kamysz formally proposed that the Pentagon establish a new permanent US military base on Polish soil. On September 17, US President Donald Trump said there had been "significant progress" in talks on building such a base. On September 21, Polish deputy defence minister Stanisław Wziątek announced that Poland plans to host a total of 15,000 US troops on its territory, combining the future base's contingent with rotational forces.
