Polish-US missile-shield talks on track: report Warsaw (AFP) Feb 22, 2008 Poland's deputy foreign minister on Friday rejected reports that negotiations over Washington's anti-missile shield were deadlocked, a report said. "There is no question of a stalemate," Witold Waszczykowski was quoted as saying by the PAP news agency. He said the talks were going fine and another round would take place next Thursday in Warsaw ahead of a meeting between the two countries' leaders. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is due to meet US President George W. Bush in Washington on March 10. Waszczykowski said Poland was hoping to win a "political defence deal between the United States and Poland" and US support for upgrading the Polish armed forces in exchange for its cooperation on the anti-missile shield. The leading Polish liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, which is considered well-informed on government issues, reported that a round of talks planned for Friday had been called off. The United States is negotiating with Warsaw and Prague on the possible installation of 10 interceptor missile sites in Poland by 2012 and associated radar stations in the Czech Republic. Washington says the sites are needed as part of a gradually developing shield to ward off attacks by what it calls "rogue states," notably Iran. But Russia strongly opposes the plans, saying the missile system would be a grave threat to its national security. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com BMD Focus: Killing NROL-21 -- Part 1 Washington (UPI) Feb 21, 2008 The successful shooting down of a dying U.S. satellite Wednesday was an important step forward in U.S. ballistic missile defense capabilities against real threats. |
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