Poland, U.S. Sign Anti-missile Shield Deal

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski exchange the documents of the agreement on deploying parts of the U.S. global missile shield on Polish soil in Poland's capital Warsaw, August 20, 2008. [Photo: Xinhuanet/AFP]

Related: Russia Warns of Response to U.S. Missile Shield in Europe

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski signed an agreement Wednesday to deploy parts of the U.S. global missile shield in the East European country.

Poland's basic goals had been achieved during prior negotiations, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after the deal was signed.

"The negotiations were very tough but friendly," Tusk said. "We have achieved our main goals, which means that our country and the United States will be more secure."

Calling the signing of the deal a historic and special occasion, Rice stressed the agreement will help answer the threats of the 21st century and consolidate U.S.-Polish cooperation.

"It is nonetheless a system that establishes firmly again, and reaffirms, our cooperation and relationship with Poland. It will deepen our defense cooperation and it will deepen our ability to deal with threats," she said.

"The shield is not directed against anyone. This is a defensive system," declared Rice, who arrived in Warsaw on Tuesday evening from Brussels after attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers there on the crisis in Georgia.

On Aug. 14, Polish and U.S. negotiators reached a deal for Poland to host parts of the U.S. global missile shield, including a battery of Patriot air defense missiles, after Washington improved the terms of the deal amid the Georgia crisis.

The agreement brings to a close 18 months of tough bargaining and also includes a declaration of U.S. military cooperation in case of a threat to Poland from a third state.

The agreement is yet to be sent to the Polish parliament for approval before it is signed by President Lech Kaczynski.

Speaker of the Sejm or lower house of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, said Wednesday that he saw no reason to hurry up the ratification of the agreement, though he did not expect any problems with achieving it.

The ratification date should not be linked to the U.S. presidential elections in November, Komorowski said.

Meanwhile, opponents of the planned U.S. anti-missile shield staged a protest outside the Prime Minister's Chancellery in Warsaw.

"We will resort to legal measures, public campaigns, meetings," said one activist.

By 2011-2013, Washington plans to install a base for 10 interceptor missiles in northern Poland and a radar tracking system in the Czech Republic to protect the United States and Europe from possible future attacks from what it calls "rogue" states.

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

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

The United States and the Czech Republic have already signed a bilateral treaty last month allowing a U.S. radar base on Czech soil despite protests from both within the Czech Republic and Russia.

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