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Poland wants US security response in missile shield talks
Warsaw (AFP) Jan 17, 2008 Poland is waiting for the United States to respond to its request for extra security guarantees should it agree to host a controversial US missile shield, the Polish defence minister said Thursday. "The Americans know our expectations. We are waiting for a response," Bogdan Klich told reporters in Warsaw. Klich described as "promising" his recent talks in Washington with State Department officials and his US counterpart, Robert Gates, regarding Poland's request for a security package alongside the shield plan. "They are inclined to begin talks on this issue," he told reporters. Amid concerns about the potential risks of hosting US missile interceptors, Warsaw has been pressing the United States to help upgrade the Polish armed forces, and notably to boost the country's air-defence system. During a visit to Warsaw Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said key NATO ally Poland had made a "sound case" for needing extra security guarantees to cover "additional risks" should they agree to host the missile shield. As he left Warsaw Thursday, Fried also called for the "intensification" of talks on missile defence. Klich said that for Poland "the most important is the result of these talks, not their end-date", and that "increasing Poland's security" was crucial. Washington wants to install 10 interceptor missiles in Poland by 2012, as well as associated radar stations in the Czech Republic, to ward off possible missile attacks by so-called rogue states, notably Iran. The plan has angered Russia, which sees it as a threat to its national security. It has not ruled out targeting the shield should it be installed in Poland, which was dominated by Moscow from the end of the Second World War until 1989. Poland's new liberal government, which took office in November, has toned down the previous conservative administration's enthusiastic backing of the US proposal. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski will hold talks on February 1 with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Russian opposition to the US proposal is also expected to figure on Sikorski's agenda during his first visit as Polish foreign minister to Moscow, expected next week. Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Czech officials urge business deals in missile shield project
Prague (AFP) Jan 16, 2008Czech officials on Wednesday called for their country to benefit from specific industrial spin-offs if a US defensive missile shield is to be sited in the Czech Republic. |
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