Polish defense minister says U.S. troops deploying to Poland in 're-pivot' to Europe

Following a meeting with United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday, Poland's Tomasz Siemoniak told The Washington Post that the U.S. will deploy ground troops to the country this week.

Noting military details still needed to be addressed, Siemoniak said the operation, which is part of an expanding NATO presence in the region, had been given a green light politically.

"The idea until recently was that there were no more threats in Europe and no need for a U.S. presence in Europe any more," Siemoniak told the Post. "Events show that what is needed is a re-pivot, and that Europe was safe and secure because America was in Europe."

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Stationing American troops in Poland would be a firm answer to ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia; while President Obama has threatened sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, so far Moscow's cooperation has been halting at best.

But Washington has not yet confirmed the deployment plan:

"(The United States) is considering a range of additional measures," a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday. "Some of those activities will be pursued bilaterally with individual NATO nations. Some will be pursued through the Alliance itself. All of them will be rotational in nature."