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Lithuania says no talks on hosting US missile shield
Vilnius (AFP) July 2, 2008 Lithuania on Wednesday dismissed claims that it is in talks on hosting a controversial US missile shield, after Washington warned it could turn to other countries if negotiations with Poland stall. "There are as yet no talks under way," Defence Minister Juozas Olekas told reporters. Olekas said the issue of anti-missile defence had been on Lithuania's agenda for a decade, notably as part of discussions within NATO, which the Balkan state joined in 2004. "That information is shared and there are consultations, but no talks are taking place," he said. The United States wants to base 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a linked radar facility in the Czech Republic to ward off potential attacks by so-called "rogue" states, notably Iran. Prague has already agreed to host the radar. Lithuania has found itself in the spotlight after being sounded out by Washington as a possible alternative host for the interceptors because talks with Poland have been sluggish. Warsaw has been holding firm to demands for a massive military aid package in return for hosting the US silos. On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that Washington was "not at this point involved in any negotiation on alternate sites because the goal is to conclude an agreement with Poland." But he cautioned that "if for some reason those arrangements don't work out, then I am sure we would look elsewhere." Later, Casey pointed to "a resolution of this somewhere in the coming days." His comments came as Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas visited Washington, although Casey stressed his talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the White House and Pentagon were not linked to the missile matter. On Wednesday, Kirkilas also played down the idea that Lithuania could step in. "Talks are currently under way with Poland, and are likely to come to a close this week, and we wish Poland all the best in the negotiations. This is our position at this time," Kirkilas told Lithuanian public radio. Russia has blasted the US missile plan as a threat to its national security and has threatened to point missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic in retaliation. Any US moves to talk to Lithuania would likely be even more sensitive for Moscow than Washington's negotiations with the Poles and Czechs, who joined NATO in 1999. While Poland and the Czech Republic were communist satellite states, Lithuania was actually part of the Soviet Union from World War II until the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US warns Poland it could turn elsewhere for missile talks
Washington (AFP) June 18, 2008The United States warned Poland Tuesday it could turn to other countries if talks with Warsaw on hosting part of a US missile defense shield do not advance. |
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