WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. A further expansion of US military presence in Poland cannot be ruled out, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said at a briefing in Washington on Friday following a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
When asked if the US would limit itself to deploying 1,700 troops to Poland, Rau pointed out that no such statements had been made. "It [the expansion of US military presence] cannot be ruled out. On the contrary, NATO’s strategy is based on the need to make sure that containment and defense are in symmetry. Otherwise, it would have made no sense," Rau said.
On Wednesday, the US authorities announced plans to deploy reinforcement troops to Romania, Poland and Germany. A total of 1,700 troops will be deployed to Poland. Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby stated that "these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine, they are going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies."
The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.