Poland: NATO should provide troops permanently to E-Europe
(Reuters) - Poland's defense minister said that it is vital that NATO troops be permanently present in eastern Europe, due to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Also, NATO should ignore any objections from Russia, if they might occur.
Tomasz Siemoniak, in an interview with Reuters, said western Europe was safe, thanks to the U.S. military presence there, adding that Russia's military was ready to intervene in Poland's neighbor, Ukraine.
Russia's annexation of Crimea has caused the deepest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War and raised fears in the region's NATO members, including Poland, about their own security.
"Threats are still present in Europe", Siemoniak said. "We believe that NATO should not be limited in anything which concerns the security of its members".
NATO presented satellite photographs last week which revealed how Russian deployments of 40000 troops were placed near the Ukrainian frontier, ready for action!
"If troops are on the border and Russia's law allows, contrary to international law, a possible intervention, then one has to fear that such an intervention may take place", Siemoniak said.
NATO has suggested it is more likely to beef up eastern European security through rotating reinforcements, rather than permanently basing substantial additional combat forces there.
Poland, whose army is dwarfed by nuclear-armed Moscow, is calling for the permanent presence of NATO forces in Poland.
Such calls are opposed by Russia, which says deployment of significant NATO forces in eastern European countries close to Russia would violate the 1997 Founding Act, a cooperation agreement between Moscow and the alliance.
But Siemoniak said the agreement was no longer binding after Russia violated international law, by grabbing part of Ukraine's territory.
"To be effective, NATO needs to have the capacity. It needs to have it also in eastern Europe", he added. "Hence, one should not treat this limitation as binding".
Siemoniak will be travelling this week to the United States, to discuss deepening military co-operation with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. A potential NATO base in Poland will be one of the topics, according to his statements.
Last month, the United States decided to increase the scale of its military exercises in Poland by sending 12 F-16 fighter jets to the country. This was a consequence to a request from Warsaw. The United States also has plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Poland by 2018.
"Europe is safe, because the U.S. is present here", Siemoniak said. "Only the U.S. has sufficient military power to stand up to any country that breaks international law and took a part of the territory of another country".
"It is in the interest of the United States that their allies are safe", Siemoniak added, responding to U.S. critics of America's potential increased military presence abroad.
"It is important that the U.S. feels that if it resigns from its global role, then the world, and thus the U.S. itself, will be less secure. This is what we think in Poland", he said.
Poland now has the largest economy in central and eastern Europe. The Polish country joined NATO 15 years ago and the European Union 10 years ago. Warsaw has also helped the United States in its war in Iraq and also sent troops to Afghanistan.
Siemoniak said that this year Poland will celebrate the 25th anniversary of regaining its independence.
"These 25 years of Poland and the region should be a very strong signal for the West how profitable it is to help and invest, so that the sphere of freedom, democracy and free markets grows larger".
