WARSAW, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Polish President Andrzej Duda attended a welcoming ceremony for NATO's multinational battalion battle group in Orzysz, northeastern Poland on Thursday.
The decision to send four multinational battle groups to Poland and the Baltic States was confirmed during a NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The battalion arrived in Poland in March. Troops from the United States will be supported by soldiers from Britain, Romania and Croatia.
Apart from Duda, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz and ambassadors of battle group member countries took part in the event.
"NATO troops have come to Orzysz to defend us and deter any enemy who could threaten Poland and its allies," said Macierewicz.
Also on Thursday, Duda held a meeting in Warsaw on with NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, giving the general the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit.
After the meeting, Scaparrotti said the current deployment of NATO troops on the eastern flank showed NATO's commitment to defending Poland's sovereignty and its people, while Duda said that Poland was aware of the obligations connected with its NATO membership.
