POLAND: U.S.and Poland sign missile shield deal which Medvedev says is aimed at Russia

Record ID: 784774

  • Title: POLAND: U.S.and Poland sign missile shield deal which Medvedev says is aimed at Russia
  • Date: 15th August 2008
  • Summary: (BN15) WARSAW, POLAND (AUGUST 14, 2008) (REUTERS) U.S. ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY JOHN ROOD AND POLISH DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER ANDRZEJ KREMER SITTING TO SIGN AGREEMENT ROOD OPENING DOCUMENT VARIOUS ROOD SIGNING AGREEMENT ROOD AND KREMER SWAPPING DOCUMENTS KREMER SIGNING KREMER CLOSING DOCUMENT ROOD AND KREMER RISING AND SHAKING HANDS ROOD AND KREMER SHAKING HANDS
  • Embargoed: 30th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA4WQIHI49M0OXG6EGCA59A0JXV
  • Story Text: A deal struck between the United States and Poland on missile defence is aimed against Russia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday (August 15).
    Poland agreed on Thursday (August 14) to host elements of the U.S.
    global anti-missile system on its territory, after Washington improved the terms of the deal amidst the Georgia crisis.
    Thursday's signing was seen as a move reflecting Moscow's diplomatic isolation over its week-old military push in Georgia.
    At a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Medvedev said the Polish-U.S. deal was a threat to Russia.
    The preliminary deal was signed by deputy Polish Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and U.S. chief negotiator John Rood. It still needs to be endorsed by the Polish parliament.
    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had been holding out for enhanced military cooperation with the United States in return for consent to host 10 interceptor rockets at a base in northern Poland.
    Washington says the interceptors and a radar in the Czech Republic would form part of a global "missile shield" protecting the United States and its allies from long range missiles that could in the future be fired by Iran or groups such as al-Qaeda.
    Officials said the deal included a U.S. declaration that it will aid Poland militarily in case of a threat from a third country and that it would establish a permanent U.S. base on Polish soil in a symbolic gesture underlining the alliance.
    "This has been a negotiation between close allies and friends," Rood said, "and while there have naturally been ups and downs throughout that entire process we have been gratified that both delegations...have approached this in the spirit of trying to do something that is important for both countries securities and as allies and friends."
    If everything goes to schedule, the interceptor base would be ready by around 2012. The Czechs have already signed an agreement to host the radar although parliament there must yet ratify it.
    Russia has vehemently opposed placing the shield installations in central Europe, saying they would threaten its security and upset the post-Cold War balance of power in Europe.
    Moscow has threatened to take retaliatory steps against Poland and the Czech Republic, its former reluctant vassals who are now part of the European Union and NATO.
    In the face of Russian opposition, Tusk had argued he could not agree to the shield unless the United States agreed to boost Warsaw's air defences and enhance mutual military cooperation.
    In the first sign of Moscow's displeasure, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday cancelled a planned trip to Warsaw in September.
    The deal, if approved by parliaments in Prague and Warsaw, will be a success for President George W. Bush who has argued it is essential to contain the threat of a potentially nuclear-armed Iran.
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