WASHINGTON 

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is open to the possibility of sending more American troops to Poland if Warsaw requests the increase and suggested his administration is working on further economic penalties on Russia.

"We'll put more there if they want. But they long wanted to have a larger presence. We have some countries that have more, not too many, but they'll be staying in Poland. We're very much aligned with Poland," the US president told reporters in the Oval Office, where he was hosting his right-wing Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki.

"We never even thought in terms of removing soldiers from Poland. We do think about it with regard to other countries, but we would never, no. We're with Poland all the way, and we will help Poland protect itself," he added.

There are roughly 10,000 US troops stationed in Poland, and Nawrocki said in remarks before he went behind closed doors with Trump that their presence marks the first time in history that "the Poles are happy that we have foreign soldiers in Poland."

"The American soldiers are part of our society," he said. "This is the signal to the world and also to the Russian Federation that we are together, but we are not like the free riders in Europe and in NATO."

Nawrocki further pledged to meet NATO's heightened defense spending goal of 5% of GDP, a benchmark established at Trump's behest as he seeks to pressure allies to increase their defense expenditures.

Trump also responded defensively when asked by a reporter about a hitherto lack of penalties on Russia for its continued war against Ukraine, pointing to secondary sanctions he imposed on India for its ongoing purchases of Russian oil, claiming it cost Moscow "hundreds of billions of dollars."

"You call that no action. And I haven't done phase two yet or phase three, but when you say there's no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job," he told the reporter.

The US president added that Russian President Vladimir Putin understands that future penalties could be imposed if the war is not brought to an end.

"He knows where I stand, and he'll make a decision one way or the other. Whatever his decision is, we'll either be happy about it or unhappy, and if we're unhappy about it, you'll see things happen," said Trump.

At issue is a hitherto elusive sit-down between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was to materialize after Trump met separately with the leaders. The Kremlin had long thrown cold water on the prospects for the meeting, but Putin said on Wednesday that he would be willing to meet with Zelenskyy if he visited Moscow.

"I have never refused this, provided the meeting is well-prepared and can lead to some positive potential outcomes," he said. "Donald asked me if I could possibly arrange such a meeting. I replied that yes, it's possible. Ultimately, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow—then the meeting will take place."

It is unclear if Zelenskyy will accept a meeting in Moscow rather than a third-party nation, in part due to security concerns.