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Biden in Poland, kicks-off east European tour
Warsaw (AFP) Oct 20, 2009 US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Poland Tuesday kicking-off a tour of eastern Europe that critics have mocked as an apology to soothe Poland and the Czech Republic after a Bush-era missile shield was shelved. Biden's plane touched down at Warsaw's military airport at 23:00 local time (21:00 GMT), according to an AFP photographer. Officials deny Biden is on a mission to pacify US partners Warsaw and Prague, on the trip which also includes Romania. They also say that the US desire to "reset" ties with Russia will not come at the expense of existing allies. Poland's President Lech Kaczynski on Tuesday termed US plans for a new anti-missile system "not bad" and said he would ask Vice President Biden about a time frame during talks expected Wednesday. "The new construction is not bad," President Kaczynski told Poland's TVP1 public television of the Obama administration's new proposal for part of an SM-3 anti-missile system to be based in Poland. "The question which arises is when this (this anti-missile project) will be realised. That will be the question I pose during my meeting" with Joe Biden due Wednesday afternoon, Kaczynski said. On September 17, US President Barack Obama scrapped a plan agreed by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush to install a controversial anti-missile shield on Polish and Czech soil. The Bush administration said the shield was designed to ward-off potential attacks by so-called "rogue" states, namely Iran, but Russia slammed it as a threat to its national security. Obama said that after a rethink, and the realisation that Iran was developing its own missiles more slowly than anticipated, his administration was opting for a more flexible system. After talks with Polish officials last week in Warsaw a senior US negotiator said the United States will deploy ground-to-air Patriot missiles in Poland in 2010 and is also discussing its plans for a new SM-3 anti-missile system with Warsaw. In September, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that aside from the Patriots, Washington aims to deploy new SM-3 missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic in 2015. On Wednesday Vice President Biden is due to hold talks with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk as well as President Lech Kaczynski before leaving for Bucharest in the late afternoon. Biden will spend Thursday in Romania ahead of visiting the Czech Republic on Friday. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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
US seeks to quell Russian concerns on missile planTbilisi (AFP) Oct 20, 2009 The United States on Tuesday sought to quell Russian concerns that new US missile defence facilities might be installed in Moscow's backyard, insisting that only NATO countries were being considered. US Assistant Defence Secretary Alexander Vershbow said in the Georgian capital that Washington was consulting only with members of the alliance after the United States scrapped a previous plan ... read more |
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