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| Europe |
| Polish PM: US shield deal near |
| 2008-08-12 |
| The conflict between Russia and Georgia, which shocked capitals and markets with its speed and ferocity, may help Poland and the United States finally reach a deal on deploying a U.S. anti-missile system on Polish soil, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday. Tusk said the latest signs from Washington indicated the United States was now ready to meet his demands for enhanced military cooperation with Poland in return for consent to host parts of the installation. "I will not announce a success before the ink is dry but the information we are getting makes the acceptance of my government's demands by the U.S. more probable than only a few weeks ago," Tusk told a news conference. Tusk spoke as the West tried to firm up a ceasefire to end days of fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia, which battered the region, forced nearly 100,000 people from their homes and killed nearly 2,000. The conflict also revived fears of a Cold War as Russia and the United States sharply criticized each other over Georgia, which has angered Moscow as it moved out of its sphere of influence and into the West's. Tusk said Russia's action against Georgia seemed to have confirmed Poland's fears that its security could deteriorate if it agreed to place the U.S. system on its soil, a prospect which has enraged Moscow. "Today, after what has happened in the Caucasus, it can be clearly seen that real security guarantees that would not leave Poland just with the installation are essential," he said. "It seems such arguments are taken more seriously now by the U.S." U.S. negotiators are due in Warsaw on Wednesday for the next round of talks, which stalled last month when Tusk rejected a U.S offer as inadequate. In return for hosting 10 ground-based interceptors, Poland demands permanent stationing of a U.S. Patriot battery on its soil as well as investments in Poland's outdated air defenses worth billions of dollars. Russia has decried the U.S. plans to place the interceptors in Poland and a giant radar in the Czech Republic, both former Soviet satellites, as an attempt to upset the post-Cold War balance of power in Europe. Moscow has threatened to take counter measures such as pointing medium-range missiles at both countries. Washington dismisses Russia's concerns saying the missile shield would be no match for thousands of Russian missiles but could save the West from rockets fired by "rogue regimes" or non-state groups such as al Qaeda. The Czechs have already signed up to the radar but the negotiations with Poland have been dragging on for months since Tusk took over as prime minister in November from his pro-U.S. conservative predecessor. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #2 Wait for the wackjobs to start saying the US instigated the USSR/ Georgia dust up in order to effect this. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-08-12 14:44 |
| #1 Well that didn't take long to backfire on ol' Pooty. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-08-12 13:43 |