US explains missile deal
2008-08-20 11:50
Warsaw - Warsaw and Washington were set on Wednesday to sign a deal to deploy US missiles in Poland, insisting the aim is to ward off adversaries like Iran, despite Moscow's claims that Russian security is threatened.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski were scheduled to ink the accord at an official ceremony in Warsaw at 09:30 GMT.
"This will help us to deal with the new threats of the 21st century, of long-range missile threats from countries like Iran or from North Korea," Rice told reporters ahead of the ceremony.
"It is defensive and is not aimed at anyone. It is nonetheless a system that establishes firmly again, and reaffirms, our co-operation and relationship with Poland. It will deepen our defence co-operation and it will deepen our ability to deal with threats," she said.
Washington plans between 2011 to 2013 to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland plus a radar facility in the neighbouring Czech Republic - both Nato members - to complete a system already in place in the United States, Greenland and Britain.
Russia has refused to accept the US argument that the missile shield, which was endorsed by all 26 Nato member states earlier this year, is meant to fend off potential missile attacks by what Washington calls "rogue states".
The signing comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and its allies and Russia over Moscow's conflict with pro-Western Georgia.
Security threat
Moscow claims the timing of the deal is further proof the system is aimed at Russia - a suggestion rejected by Washington.
Moscow had already dubbed the shield a security threat designed to undermine Russia's nuclear deterrent - although 10 interceptors would barely scratch its vast arsenal.
"We will be forced to respond to this adequately. The EU and US have been warned," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said last month as the missile talks moved to a close.
Last week, Russia's General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Poland was making itself a target "100%".
Polish President Lech Kaczynski hit back in a televised address on Tuesday, saying his country would not give in to threats.
"No one can dictate to Poland what it should do. That's in the past," Kaczynski said.
"Our neighbours should now understand that our nation will never give in, nor allow itself to be intimidated," he added.
'No one should be afraid...'
Kaczynski did not name Russia directly, but his mention of the "past" was a clear reference to Poland's post-World War II decades as a Soviet satellite.
"No one should be afraid of (the shield), if they have good intentions towards us or the rest of the West," Kaczynski said.
Warsaw and Prague have had rocky relations with Moscow since they broke free from the crumbling Soviet bloc in 1989, and ties have worsened since they joined Nato in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
To try to calm Moscow's ire, Poland has repeatedly offered to allow Russian inspections of the missile facilities.
"Our offer still stands," Sikorski said last week.
"We want Russia to be able to have the possibility, if it so desires, to inspect the future base," he said.
US and Polish negotiators signed a preliminary deal in Warsaw last Thursday, capping 15 months of negotiations.
- AFP