Poland: U.S. Defense Shield Deal Possible by Year’s End

Poland: U.S. Defense Shield Deal Possible by Year’s End

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, WARSAW


An agreement to install parts of a U.S. missile defense shield in Poland could be reached before the end of the year, Poland’s deputy foreign minister said Sept. 6.
"We are closer," Witold Waszczykowski told reporters at the end of the first day of a new round of talks between the U.S, and Poland on the issue. "I think that in two or three months, those questions can be clarified, negotiated and signed."
Daniel Fried, US assistant secretary of state for European affairs, spoke of a similar time frame during an international forum in Krynica in southern Poland.
Washington wants to site 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of an extended defense shield against airborne attacks, along with a powerful tracking radar in the Czech Republic.
Russia has strongly objected to the U.S. plan and does not accept Washington’s argument that the system is purely defensive and meant to prevent potential attacks from what the U.S. calls "rogue" nations, such as Iran.
Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet Sept. 10 in Paris to discuss Washington’s plans for an anti-missile defense system in central Europe, a Russian foreign ministry official said Sept. 6.