WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s deputy defense minister announced Wednesday that the United States has signaled interest in potentially setting up a permanent American military base on Polish soil.
Cezary Tomczyk spoke with The Associated Press one day after the Polish government passed a resolution clearing the way for such a permanent U.S. base in Poland, located on NATO’s eastern flank. He described Tuesday’s government resolution as a formal invitation extended to the Americans.
“The Americans are interested in the Polish offer to place a permanent base here,” Tomczyk said during an interview at the Defense Ministry in Warsaw, noting that the base would be jointly funded by both nations.
When reporters asked U.S. Defense Department officials in Washington about those comments, they said they had nothing new to announce.
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland is doing everything it can to make a permanent base a reality, but acknowledged that “the decision will always be on the side of the Americans.”
Currently, roughly 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland, with most serving on a rotational rather than permanent basis. The Polish government is pushing for thousands of those troops to be stationed there on a permanent footing, especially as the United States reconsiders its overall military presence across Europe — both in terms of personnel and equipment.
The issue gained urgency in May, when the U.S. abruptly stopped the deployment of 4,000 soldiers to Poland, even though the Trump administration had previously called Poland a “model ally” for meeting its NATO defense spending targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump had also previously threatened to withdraw troops from Germany — a move linked to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of U.S. policy on Iran. The pullback in Poland, however, created widespread confusion on both sides of the Atlantic.
Tomczyk was part of a Polish delegation quickly sent to Washington for emergency talks. While he was still in the U.S. capital, Trump posted on social media that the U.S. would send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland.
Since then, the U.S. has confirmed it is reorganizing its troop presence in Europe but has offered no specific details about troop movements. Still, multiple statements from Polish defense officials suggest they believe their country has a real opportunity to see an increase in permanently stationed American forces.
“Sometimes a rotating model can change into a permanent model and this is always much better,” Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said in mid-May.
When asked whether the Polish resolution was prompted by clear signals from the U.S. side, Tomczyk said the two countries are “in a working dialogue” and that “the next step, after the two sides confirmed they are interested in this, is the official offer from the Polish state.”
“We can’t tell fortune from tea leaves,” Tomczyk added. “But we are a serious state which is presenting a serious offer to the Americans, in connection with the dialogue we are having with the Americans.”
