Poland asks Nato to station 10,000 troops on its territory

NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to consider requests for soldiers to be deployed in Poland and the Baltic States, all of which share borders with Russia

Photo: Francois Lenoir/ Reuters / The Telegraph

Poland asks NATO to station 10,000 troops on its territory

Poland asked Nato to station 10,000 troops on its territory on Tuesday as a visible demonstration of the Alliance’s resolve to defend all its members after Russia’s seizure of Crimea.

NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to consider requests for soldiers to be deployed in Poland and the Baltic States, all of which share borders with Russia. NATO generals and admirals have been ordered to devise ways to better protect alliance members that feel threatened by Russia, and “all practical civilian and military cooperation” with Russia. President Vladimir Putin has massed about 40,000 troops near Ukraine’s eastern frontier, giving himself the option of seizing more of his neighbour’s territory.

On Monday, he assured Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, that some of these forces would be withdrawn. But the ministers disclosed that Russia had yet to keep this promise.