"No-one can dictate to Poland what it should do. That's in the past," Kaczynski said in a live prime-time television address ahead of Wednesday's signing of the accord with the United States.

"Our neighbours should now understand that our nation will never give in, nor allow itself to be intimidated," Kaczynski said, in the wake of Russian threats to target Poland in retaliation for hosting a US base.

Kaczynski did not name Russia directly in his speech, but his mention of the "past" was a clear reference to Poland's decades as a Soviet satellite state.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to sign the missile deal in Warsaw Wednesday morning in a ceremony which comes after months of negotiations coloured by strident opposition from Russia.

Washington plans by 2011-2013 to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland plus a radar facility in the neighbouring Czech Republic -- both of them NATO members -- to complete a system already in place in the United States, Greenland and Britain.

Moscow is deeply opposed to the missile plan, and the deal signing comes amid a spike in tensions between Washington and its allies over Russia's conflict with pro-Western Georgia, a country staunchly supported by fellow ex-communist Poland.

Washington insists the shield -- endorsed by all 26 NATO member states earlier this year -- is to fend off potential missile attacks by what it calls "rogue states," a phrase regarded as including Iran.

"No-one should be afraid of this, if they have good intentions towards us or the rest of the West," Kaczynski said.

Moscow, however, considers the system to be a security threat designed to undermine Russia's nuclear deterrent. It has threatened retaliation against the Poles and Czechs, warning they could become a target for Russian attack.

Warsaw and Prague have had rocky relations with Moscow since they broke free from the crumbling communist bloc in 1989 after four decades under the Kremlin's thumb, and ties have worsened since they joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

For Poles, Moscow's current stance also feeds fears from the pre-communist era -- Tsarist Russia ruled a large slice of their country for more than 100 years until they won independence at the end of World War I.

US and Polish negotiators inked a preliminary missile shield deal in Warsaw last Thursday, capping 15 months of negotiations.

Talks had ground on until Washington accepted Poland's demands for extra security guarantees in return for hosting a missile base, including a Patriot missile air-defence system and boosted military ties.

The missile plan also involves the deployment of several hundred US troops in Poland to service the shield facility and Patriots missiles, which will gradually be turned over to the Poles once they have been trained to use them.

Washington and Prague had already sealed the radar deal in July.

Both accords must still be ratified by Polish and Czech lawmakers.

related report
Polish president, premier spar over US missile deal
The looming signing of a deal on basing a US missile shield in Poland has sparked a new round in a long-running spat between Polish President Lech Kaczynski and arch-rival Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

On the eve of Wednesday's signing ceremony in Warsaw with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Kaczynski and Tusk, who both backed the deal, were in disagreement over who should give a prime-time television speech about it.

Tusk had been set to address the nation Tuesday evening, but changed his mind after learning Kaczynski was planning to do the same.

"I considered it would be ridiculous to have two speeches on the same evening on the same subject. So obviously, I cancelled," Tusk told reporters.

The conservative Kaczynski had criticised his liberal prime minister for purportedly upping the ante in talks with the United States, which ended last week after 15 months.

Tusk pushed for -- and won -- additional security guarantees to offset the potential risks of hosting a US missile base, notably the provision of a Patriot air-defence system.

He had taken a harder line than his conservative predecessor, Kaczynski's identical twin Jaroslaw Kaczysnski.

"The results we got are better than those at the beginning of the talks," Tusk said.

Tusk and Kaczynski's bad blood dates back to the 2005 presidential elections, which Tusk lost narrowly after a campaign marked by mudslinging.

The two men were thrust into a difficult working relationship after Tusk won a snap election last October, and have battled incessantly over who should steer foreign policy.

Poland has agreed to Washington's plan to base 10 interceptor missiles on Polish soil by 2011-2013.

Along with a radar facility in the neighbouring Czech Republic, the missiles would complete a system already in place in the United States, Greenland and Britain.

Washington insists the shield -- endorsed by all 26 NATO member states earlier this year -- is to fend off potential missile attacks by what it calls "rogue states," a phrase regarded as including Iran.

Moscow, however, considers it a security threat designed to undermine Russia's nuclear deterrent. It has threatened retaliation against the Poles and Czechs, warning they could even become a target for attack.

Rice is due to sign the deal with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Wednesday morning.

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