Poland's FM: NATO summit may approve troop presence here

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's foreign minister said Monday that this year's NATO summit in Warsaw may approve a permanent presence of troops in Eastern Europe amid concerns for the region's security in the face of a resurgent Russia.

Poland's leaders say the July 8-9 summit will concentrate on security issues on NATO's eastern flank, where the alliance has no permanent base. To Poland, this suggests that NATO is not treating its members in the region on a par with those in the West. Leaders in the region are trying to change that.

NATO deploys small units to the region temporarily and last year held major exercises in Poland and neighboring countries.

Witold Waszczykowski said that the summit should "open the process of building an allied presence in Central and Eastern Europe."

He said an increasing number of member states are in favor of the idea. He did not name the countries.

Waszczykowski said on TVN24: "The term 'bases' is avoided as reminiscent of Cold War confrontation attitudes, but there are signs that indicate that such presence will be guaranteed."