Русская версияThe agreement was signed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski at a ceremony also attended
by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczynski.
US officials have worked hard to persuade Moscow that the system --
10 missile interceptors in Poland, placed 185 kilometers (115
miles) from Russia's border, and a tracking radar in Czech Republic
-- is not aimed at counteracting Russia's strategic nuclear
arsenal.
The timing of the accord has fuelled speculation that Russia's
invasion of Georgia, a US ally, spurred US and Polish officials to
close the deal after some 18 months of hard bargaining, though
diplomats from both countries have denied any link.
Negotiations had, until last Thursday, come to a near standstill on
Polish demands that the US reinforce Polish security with Patriot
missiles in exchange for hosting the missile shield -- wishes US
officials eventually granted.
"The presence of the Patriot battery which will defend our
territory ...
(while) the U.S. installation is a practical
dimension of this watershed agreement," said Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk, Reuters reported. "Our countries, Poland and the
United States, will be more secure."
Russia regards system as affront
Russia has fiercely opposed the missile shield, due to be
operational by 2013, saying it would respond by targeting its two
former satellite states with a potential nuclear strike.
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Russia remains in heated opposition to the US missile shield plans
The decision by Poland, and earlier by the Czech Republic, to host
elements of the US shield, "has the Russian Federation as its
target," Russian President Dimitry Medvedev told a joint press
conference after a meeting in Sochi on the Black Sea last Friday,
The International Herald Tribune
reported. "This is sad for Europe, sad for all in this densely
populated continent."
Russia's deputy chief of general staff, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn,
said last week the plans for the missile base in Poland "could not
go unpunished."
"It is a cause for regret that at a time when we are already in a
difficult situation, the American side further exacerbates the
situation in relations between the United States and Russia," he
said, according to the BBC.
Missile defense simply a safeguard, says Rice
Rice, however, reiterated the missile shield is "purely defensive"
and strengthens strategic cooperation with Poland, a former
Soviet-bloc nation that was among the first to join NATO after
the Cold War ended.
"This is a system that is defensive and is not aimed at anyone,"
she said. "This is an agreement that will establish a missile
defense site ... that will help us to deal with the new threats of
the 21st century of long-range missile (attacks) from countries
like Iran or North Korea.
"We're talking about a missile defense system that couldn't
possibly be aimed at the Russian nuclear deterrent," she told
the BBC on Tuesday. "Russia has thousands of nuclear warheads.
This is for small missile attacks of the kind that Iran might
launch."
Shield accord signals new strength for Poland, Kaczynski
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Polish leader Lech Kaczynski believes US shield has improved
Poland's global position
Polish President Lech Kaczynski called the signing an "important
day" in Polish history during a televised address to the nation
Tuesday night.
Poland had taken a step to "strengthen its position in the world"
by sealing the agreement with Washington, he said.
In July, the Czech government agreed to host the system's radar in
a military area near the German border.
Approval by the Czech and Polish parliaments is required before the
project can go ahead. The system would represent the first
US military bases in the two former Warsaw Pact nations.
The US plan had been unpopular in both countries, but a recent poll
showed Polish opinion has swung in favor of the shield in the wake
of the fighting over the breakaway region of South Ossetia between
Russia and Georgia.
Some 58 percent of Poles canvassed said they now supported the
Pentagon's plan.
Many Poles view Russia's military incursion into Georgia as proof
that Poland needs to bolster its defensive capabilities.
(Deutsche Welle)
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