WARSAW, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Polish government passed Tuesday a
resolution authorizing the foreign minister to sign the agreement on the
deployment in Poland of elements of the U.S. anti-missile shield, Deputy Prime
Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said here after the cabinet sitting.
The agreement will be formally signed in Warsaw on Wednesday by U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart Radoslaw
Sikorski. Rice is due in Warsaw Tuesday evening for the signing after attending
NATO talks on the crisis in Georgia.
Polish and U.S. negotiators reached an agreement Thursday to host parts of
the U.S. global missile shield, including a battery of Patriot air defense
missiles, in Poland after Washington improved the terms of the deal amid the
Georgia crisis, capping more than one and a half years of tough bargaining.
The agreement reportedly provides for deploying Patriot missiles in Poland,
without specifying their number, and strengthening Polish-U.S. military
cooperation. It also includes a declaration of U.S. military cooperation in case
of a threat to Poland from third states.
The agreement still need to be approved by Polish parliament and President
Lech Kaczynski.
The United States plans to install a base for 10 interceptor missiles in
northern Poland to protect the United States and Europe from possible future
attacks from what it calls "rogue" states such as Iran.
Warsaw has been lobbying Washington to provide a THAAD or Patriot-type air
defense system in exchange for a Polish green light for hosting the silos.
Russia objects the anti-missile shield plan, saying it will threaten
Russian national security. Moscow has warned that it will target its missiles at
the system if it is deployed in Poland.