President Trump is sending additional troops to Poland to counter Russian military activity in the region.
The U.S. rotates a fighting force of 4,500 troops through Poland already. Trump agreed to deploy an additional 1,000 troops at Polish President Andrej Duda’s request.
They made it official at the White House before a joint news conference, where Trump said the U.S. and Poland have an ‘extraordinary’ security relationship and he’d be visiting the European nation for a second time in September for a WWII commemoration.
‘I hope that Poland’s going to have a great relationship with Russia. I hope that we’re going to have a great relationship with Russia,’ he said in the Rose Garden, as he confirmed he’d be meeting with Vladimir Putin this month in Osaka.
President Trump is sending additional troops to Poland to counter Russian military activity in the region
The U.S. rotates a fighting force of 4,500 troops through Poland already. Trump agreed to deploy an additional 1,000 troops at Polish President Andrej Duda’s request
Trump said Poland is also buying 32 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. The U.S. president gave Duda a demonstration of the aircraft in a flyover before the news conference
Trump and the Russian leader are holding a summit on the sidelines on the Group of 20’s annual gathering.
‘I’ll be meeting with Putin at the G20,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office before he signed the Polish security accord. ‘I’ll be meeting with many of the leaders at the G20.’
He said in an Oval Office meeting with Duda that he hopes Russia isn’t a threat and the country will ‘get along’ with Poland and the rest of its European neighbors.
‘I hope not. Tell you what, we’re with everybody and I hope not. I think that Russia will treat Poland with respect just like the rest of the world is treating. Poland has really built up a great country,’ he said. ‘I want everybody to get along.’
Trump said he could take executive action to block Russia from selling natural gas to allies like Germany that the U.S. is also trying to distribute it’s product to, underscoring his repeated claims that a pipeline that’s under construction is security threat.
‘People have a right to do what they want to do,’ he said, but added, ‘It’s a, you know, something that I’ve been looking at and I’m thinking about.’
He said, ‘I do think that Germany is putting themselves at a tremendous disadvantage when 50, 60, or 70 percent of their energy is being supplied by Russia. I don’t know how you can do it.’
The U.S. president said Germany could block Russia by refusing to purchase oil Moscow.
‘They shouldn’t buy it. Or, if they want to, they can. But that’s really a decision of Germany. I’m not saying that I would be in favor,’ he said. ‘I think the German people aren’t very happy about it. Because it really makes Germany a hostage of Russia if things ever happened that were bad.’
Trump said the U.S. and Poland have an ‘extraordinary’ security relationship, and he’d be visiting the European nation for a second time in September for a WWII commemoration
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda
Trump has visited Poland once already, and it was Duda’s second visit to the White House
There are currently about 4,500 U.S. troops that routinely rotate in and out of Poland
Duda told reporters later at the news conference that Poland would like Russia to be an ally, but the nation’s invasions of Georgia and the Crimea make it difficult to trust Putin’s government.
Trump said at the joint presser that was held in the White House Rose Garden under a blazing sun that Poland will provide basing and infrastructure for the troops the U.S. is sending.
‘The Polish government will build these projects at no cost to the United States. The Polish government will pay for this,’ he said.
Trump said Poland is also buying 32 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. The U.S. president gave Duda a demonstration of the aircraft in a flyover before the news conference.
‘As it flew over the White House, it actually came to a pretty close to a halt over the White House. I always say, what’s wrong with that plane, it’s not going very fast,’ the U.S. president said. ‘Considered to be the greatest fight jet in the world.’
Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in two weeks at the G20
Poland is anxious about Russia’s incursions in Ukraine and Georgia and has asked NATO for great protections. It appealed to Trump by offering to call a desired U.S. military base ‘Fort Trump,’ which appeared on Wednesday to be having the desired effect.
‘So we’re looking at doing things with Poland, including working with their military. And, as you know, Poland wants to build a great military facility for the United States. They’ll build it. They’re going to spend money. I mean, that’s up to them if they want to do it, but it’s something we’ll consider,’ Trump told journalists.
He said, ‘We are giving it very serious thought, and we’ll see how that all works out. But they came to us. They liked the idea. And it’s something that we’re very interested in.’
Trump said in the Oval Office that he had ‘nothing to do’ with the base’s proposed name.
‘ “Fort Trump.” That’s all I need, “Fort Trump,” and you people would have a field day with that, right?’ he said to reporters. ‘No, that’s up to them. They can name it whatever they want.’
At a reception early Friday evening at the White House, the Polish president told Trump ‘you are a great friend’ to the nation and wished him a happy, early birthday.
‘May all your dreams come true,’ he told him.