Poland Sees US Missile Shield Deal By October; As Russia Beefs Up Kyrgyzstan Base

Poland and United States could reach a deal by September or October on installing part of the US anti-missile defence system in the central European country, local media reported Wednesday citing a top foreign ministry official. Deputy foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski, who just completed a round of negotiations with the Americans, told Polish journalists in Washington that Warsaw was "satisfied" that US officials had accepted several of Poland's demands.

These included the immediate sharing of information obtained from a proposed radar system to be installed in the neighboring Czech Republic.

Washington wants to site 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of an extended defence shield against airborne attacks, along with a powerful tracking radar in the Czech Republic.

Russia however has strongly objected to the US plan and threatened to retaliate if the system is installed in central Europe. Moscow does not accept Washington's argument that the system is purely defensive and meant to target possible attacks from what the US calls "rogue states" such as Iran.

Instead Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed to US President George W. Bush sharing a radar alert system located in northern Azerbaijan.

"The Russian proposal is interesting, it has not been rejected," said Waszczykowski. "It is being looked at as a complementary system to the installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, not as a replacement."

The next round of talks on the anti-missile shield will take place during Polish President Lech Kaczynski's visit to Washington next month, followed by negotiations between the defence experts in early August in Warsaw.

Source: spacewar.com