Assemblée parlementaire de l'OTAN
HomeMEDIA RESOURCES200825 April 2008 - NATO PA DELEGATION DISCUSSED MISSILE DEFENCE IN POLAND

25 April 2008 - NATO PA DELEGATION DISCUSSED MISSILE DEFENCE IN POLAND

Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Google Buzz
diggIt
RSS

On April 24, a delegation of officers of Assembly’s Science and Technology Committee, led by Committee Chairman Michael Mates (UK), travelled to Warsaw to discuss the proposed European deployment of the US missile defence system. The delegation met with Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich, Poland’s chief missile defence negotiator Witold Waszczykowski, senior representatives of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces and members of both chambers of the parliament from the ruling coalition as well as opposition parties.

There is an evident progress in the negotiations between Poland and the United States, although it is not yet clear when the deal might be finalised. The Polish government maintains that time is not a crucial factor; agreeing on the right terms is what matters. It was also stressed that while major political forces in Poland are, in principle, in favour of the plan, only after the conclusion of negotiations the decision of whether or not to host an interceptor base will be made. The installation of the “Third Site” will require Poland to reassess its security policy strategy, taking into account new security challenges such as asymmetrical threats. Therefore, the Polish government believes that assistance to modernisation of the Polish armed forces should be a part of the agreement with the United States.

Poland views the US proposal in a broader context as a vehicle to strengthen the transatlantic link. However, the current government also strongly supports the idea of linking the US system to NATO missile defence architecture. Therefore, the Polish representatives praised the decisions of the Bucharest Summit that paved the way for establishing such a linkage.

Members of the NATO PA delegation and the Polish interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to disprove certain myths about missile defence in order to gain the public support for the project and to avoid escalation of tensions with Russia.
Share