President Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. and Poland are discussing sending roughly 2,000 U.S. troops from Germany or elsewhere to Poland, and Poland is considering allowing the U.S. to have a military base in Poland. But nothing is finalized, Mr. Trump said.
“There would be no additional troops to Europe. We’d be moving them from another location,” Mr. Trump said, seated alongside Poland’s President Andrzej Duda in the Oval Office.
The two leaders met before they plan to hold a signing ceremony and news conference. Administration officials told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that there will be a “significant announcement” out of Mr. Trump’s meeting with Duda, but gave no further details.
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When Mr. Trump and Duda met in September, the leaders brought up the possibility of permanent U.S. military bases in Poland, something Duda believes would help deter Russian influence in the region. At the time, Duda said he wanted the proposed military base in Poland to be called “Fort Trump,” to which Mr. Trump nodded.
“They get hurt, unfortunately, too often, right? Too often,” Mr. Trump said of Poland on Wednesday. “They are in the middle of everything. When bad things happen, it seems Poland is the first one that is in there and it is unfortunate.”
Mr. Trump also told reporters Wednesday that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit later this month.
The two presidents are set to have a signing ceremony at 1:40 p.m., followed by the Rose Garden presser at 2:15 p.m.
Before the press conference, the two leaders will witness an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft flyover above the White House, in honor of Poland’s intention to purchase F-35s for their own military, according to White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley.
