Trump says 'major progress' towards US base in Poland

US President Donald Trump said Thursday there had been "major progress" towards establishing an American military base in Poland, after Warsaw said it was holding talks with Washington on the issue.

"Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland," Trump said on social media.

"If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance."

Trump's announcement comes despite his administration launching a formal review of its military presence in Europe, raising fears among allies that it could cut back its forces in European nations.

But Poland, which borders both Ukraine and Russia on NATO's eastern flank and spends around five percent of its GDP on defense, is working to strengthen the US presence on its soil.

Polish deputy defence minister, Pawel Zalewski, said in August that his country was discussing with the United States whether to set up a permanent US base on its territory.

"We have already completed the initial stage (of the process), not to mention the political will, which was expressed long ago," Zalewski told public broadcaster TVP.

Almost 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Poland -- which is also an EU member state -- but almost exclusively on a rotational basis.

Polish President Nawrocki is a conservative ally of Trump, and he visited the White House last year. During that visit Trump offered to send more US troops to Poland.

Washington has levied heavy criticism against a number of European countries that refused to allow US forces to use NATO bases on their territory in their war with Iran.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had also threatened to reduce his country's contribution to the alliance's budget if certain states refused to honor the commitments made last year at the NATO summit in The Hague.

At that summit, NATO allies pledged to devote by 2035 at least five percent of their GDP to security spending, including 3.5 percent devoted strictly to military expenditures.