More NATO troops to be deployed to Poland, Stoltenberg says


More NATO troops will soon be deployed to Poland as part of efforts to reassure eastern countries that feel threatened by Russia, the chief of the Western military alliance promised during a visit to Warsaw on Monday.Poland will host NATO's next summit in July, during which leaders will consider the deployment of battalions to the country and Baltic states, a move that is likely to further antagonize Russia, which says that NATO's eastward expansion threatens its national security."Let me be clear: there will be more NATO troops in Poland after the Warsaw summit, to send a clear signal that an attack on Poland will be considered an attack on the whole alliance," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said as he kicked off a two-day visit to Warsaw.NATO is still discussing "the exact numbers and locations" of its enhanced presence in the east, but it will be multinational and rotational, he added. NATO defence ministers are due to work out some of the details at talks in Brussels on June 14-15.Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country is keen to have the alliance present on its territory."We want to make sure that it's not only Poland that is a member of NATO, but we also want to have NATO here in Poland, to have troops of the allied and armed forces here," he said."We want to make sure that as many exercises as possible are conducted in Poland, so that we feel the presence of NATO forces in our country," Duda added.Poland will host a large military exercise on June 7-17 - codenamed Anakonda 2016 - with more than 25,000 participants expected to take part, according to the US Army.Stoltenberg dismissed suggestions that the exercise could further ratchet up tensions with Russia."This is something which is part of an exercise programme, it's announced, it's transparent, so there is no reason that it should create any concern," he said.Relations between NATO and Moscow have reached their worst point since the Cold War over Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.