Poland silent on U.S. anti-missile shield deal
Source: Reuters
(Adds U.S. comment, paragraphs 4-5) WARSAW, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Poland said on Sunday it was still in talks with the United States about the possibility of allowing it to base an anti-missile system on its soil, and had no comment on a report a final deal had been agreed upon. Washington is investing $10 billion a year in developing the system, which would use rockets to shoot down hostile missiles. Diplomats say Poland is considered one of the best potential locations for rocket batteries. The Czech government said on Saturday the United States had asked permission to build a radar base on its territory that would form part of the defense system. A U.S. State Department spokesman said basing missile defense assets in Europe would help protect allies and the United States from the evolving threat of ballistic missiles from the Middle East. "Toward this defensive goal, the United States, Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to conduct detailed discussions regarding the possible basing of missile defenses in their countries," said the spokesman, Edgar Vasquez. Plans to deploy the anti-missile shield on Polish soil have met with strong criticism from Russia, which sees the move as an attempt by the United States to destabilize the balance of power in central Europe. Moscow has warned it will take unspecified measures against Poland, a member of the Russian-dominated "Warsaw Pact" military alliance until the fall of communism in the early 1990s, if it accepts the defense system. Polish news agency PAP reported on Saturday that Washington had informed both Warsaw and Prague a definite decision on the placing of the missile system on Polish and Czech soil had been made. The PAP report quoted the Slovak Foreign Ministry as saying Washington's decision had been communicated to Poland and the Czech Republic. A spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry declined on Sunday to confirm that. "Consultations concerning that issue have been going on for months," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrzej Sados said. "The Polish government doesn't have an official position on that issue. We need more consultations, which we are conducting with our American friends through diplomatic channels," he added. (Additional reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh in Washington)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
