Polish cabinet approves anti-missile shield deal with U.S.

www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-20 00:34:33

WARSAW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) --

The Polish government passed Tuesday a resolution authorizing the foreign minister to sign the agreement on the deployment in Poland of elements of the U.S. anti-missile shield, Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said here after the cabinet sitting.

The agreement will be formally signed in Warsaw on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski. Rice is due in Warsaw Tuesday evening for the signing after attending NATO talks on the crisis in Georgia.

Polish and U.S. negotiators reached an agreement Thursday to host parts of the U.S. global missile shield, including a battery of Patriot air defense missiles, in Poland after Washington improved the terms of the deal amid the Georgia crisis, capping more than one and a half years of tough bargaining.

The agreement reportedly provides for deploying Patriot missiles in Poland, without specifying their number, and strengthening Polish-U.S. military cooperation. It also includes a declaration of U.S. military cooperation in case of a threat to Poland from third states.

The agreement still need to be approved by Polish parliament and President Lech Kaczynski.

The United States plans to install a base for 10 interceptor missiles in northern Poland to protect the United States and Europe from possible future attacks from what it calls "rogue" states such as Iran.

Warsaw has been lobbying Washington to provide a THAAD or Patriot-type air defense system in exchange for a Polish green light for hosting the silos.

Russia objects the anti-missile shield plan, saying it will threaten Russian national security. Moscow has warned that it will target its missiles at the system if it is deployed in Poland.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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