Marcin Przydacz, foreign policy adviser to Polish President Karol Nawrocki, made the comments after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Thursday. Przydacz told reporters there was "an absolute green light from the White House," adding that the final shape of any permanent US troop presence in Poland would depend on a broader Pentagon strategy that is still being developed. Warsaw has long pushed for a permanent US military presence, viewing American forces as a key deterrent against Russia amid growing security concerns on NATO's eastern flank. Poland currently hosts around 10,000 US troops, the second-largest American military contingent in Europe after Germany. However, most of those troops are stationed on a rotational basis rather than permanently. Suspended deployment The temporary nature of those deployments came into focus in May, when the Pentagon abruptly halted the planned rotation of a 4,000-strong US armored brigade into Poland. The move took Polish officials by surprise and drew criticism from both Republican and Democratic US lawmakers. In what appeared to be a U-turn, US President Donald Trump later announced that 5,000 "additional" US troops would be sent to Poland. Commenting on Trump's words, Przydacz said that during the meeting Rubio had reaffirmed the deployment of 5,000 US troops but suggested the figure likely referred to troops replacing, rather than supplementing, the suspended armored brigade. “The declaration regarding the additional 5,000 troops was maintained,” Przydacz was quoted as saying by PAP. “However, this does not necessarily mean that the suspended 4,000-strong armored brigade, whose rotation was halted, will also be deployed to Poland.” ‘Model ally?’ According to Przydacz, Rubio also said he was “absolutely in favor” of changing the status of US forces in Poland from a rotational to a permanent presence. The secretary of state reportedly described Poland as a "model ally" that devotes “an appropriate share of its GDP” to defence while investing heavily in military equipment and technology, PAP reported. Poland recorded the highest defense spending in NATO in 2025, allocating 4.3% of its GDP to the military. For Warsaw, the push for a permanent base is an effort to avoid being caught up in any wider US drawdown and to anchor American troops in Poland at a time when Washington is reassessing its role on the continent. Last month, Washington announced it would conduct a six-month review of American forces in Europe, fuelling further concerns over long-term US commitments to its NATO allies on the continent. In May, the Pentagon announced plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, home to the largest US military presence in Europe. The moves came amid wider tensions between the US and its European allies, with Trump repeatedly arguing that Europe is "freeloading" on US military support and criticizing NATO for not supporting the US-Israeli war against Iran. Asked about the review of the US military presence in Europe, Przydacz said the final details of Washington's new strategy were expected to be unveiled in the autumn. "The key task now is to ensure that the decision coming from the White House is properly implemented," he said. Poland has repeatedly called for a larger and more permanent US military footprint, arguing that its position, bordering war-torn Ukraine and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, makes it key to NATO’s eastern flank.
