Poland and the United States opened talks Thursday about a plan
to build a US missile shield, with Polish officials saying they
would seek favorable terms for hosting part of the project.
US Assistant Secretary of State John Rood arrived for talks in
Warsaw to discuss placing 10 interceptor rockets in Poland aimed at
protecting against missile attacks from what Washington calls rogue
states such as Iran or North Korea.
The plan has drawn strong criticism from Russia, which sees it
as a threat to its national security. Russia has rejected offers to
cooperate with the US on the project and threatened to pull out of
the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the United
States and the Soviet Union.
"It won't lead to anything but a new spiral in the arms race,"
Russian President Vladmir Putin said in Vienna. "We consider this
totally counterproductive and are trying to demonstrate this to our
partners."
Poland's leaders Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister and his
twin brother Lech, the president are in favor of hosting the
rockets but want assurances from the US about a strategic political
and military partnership and aid for the Polish army.
Defense Minister Aleksander Szczyglo told Polish television
TVN24 that the outcome of the talks was still open and that NATO
member Poland would seek tough conditions.
"Our American friends ought to remember that we are still
negotiating and we will not make any commitments before certain
issues are clarified," he said, without giving further details.
The chief of Poland's National Security Bureau, Wladyslaw
Stasiak echoed these views saying: "We are counting on more
concrete offers from the US side now but it has to be clear that
the outcome is open and nothing is decided so far".
"Poland is interested in a wider strategic cooperation with the
United States," he added.
(China Daily via agencies May 25, 2007)
