MINSK, September 27. /TASS/. The establishment of a permanent US military base in Poland will not help strengthen regional stability, Belarusian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anatoly Glaz said at a briefing on Thursday.
"We have been keeping an eye on the situation and will change our approaches in certain areas depending on further developments," he said in response to a question about a permanent US military base in Poland. "Getting additional facilities and troops to come to a country is a zero-sum game, which will only weaken the security of this particular country and its neighbors," Glaz added.
According to the Belarusian diplomat, such steps "cannot strengthen the much-needed stability, predictability and transparency in our region." "On the contrary, restoring mutual understanding and trust in the political and military fields is important as never before, which particularly includes conventional arms control. This is what the focus should be on, rather than on military build-up," Glaz pointed out, adding that Belarus was ready for that, proving its readiness by taking its consistent steps aimed at strengthening global security.
Polish President Andrzej Duda at a Washington press conference on September 18 called on the US authorities to send more troops to Poland, which, according to him, was in the interest of both countries as it would help strength Poland’s security. Duda said that during talks, US President Donald Trump and he had made jokes about establishing a permanent US military base in Poland and naming it "Fort Trump." Warsaw earlier expressed readiness to allocate $2 bln for setting up such a base. On the same day, Trump told reporters he was thoroughly studying the Polish president’s initiative.
The United States currently maintains about 3,500 troops in Poland on a rotating basis. About 1,000 NATO troops are also deployed to the country.