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NATO Presence in Poland to Grow After Alliance's Warsaw Summit

Sputnik News

17:38 18.01.2016(updated 18:12 18.01.2016)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO will increase its military presence in Poland.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – NATO's military presence in Poland will increase after the alliance's summit in Warsaw in July, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.

'NATO now has persistent military presence in the region of which Poland is part. I trust that after the Warsaw summit we will see more NATO in Poland than ever before,' Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Earlier in January, the Polish leadership expressed hope that the upcoming summit would provide opportunity for NATO troops' permanent deployment in Eastern Europe.

Stoltenberg also stressed that NATO will begin setting up military infrastructure for the alliance's missile defense system in Poland in spring 2016.

'This spring we will break ground for a key site in Poland for NATO's ballistic missile defense,' Stoltenberg said.

NATO has been increasing its presence in Eastern Europe since Crimea's reunification with Russia in March 2014, as the West refused to recognize a legitimate referendum and blamed Moscow for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Russia has denied the allegations and has repeatedly stated that the bloc's increased activities near its borders undermine regional and international stability.

NATO has been increasing its presence in Eastern Europe since Crimea's reunification with Russia in March 2014, as the West refused to recognize a referendum on the status of the peninsula and blamed Moscow for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity by 'annexing' the region. Over 95 percent of Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia in the referendum.

Russia has denied the allegations and has repeatedly stated that the bloc's increased activities near its borders undermine regional and international stability.

© Sputnik