Missile shield base in Poland no threat to Russia: Polish FM
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
29.05.2016 12:45
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said that a US missile shield base being built in northern Poland is no threat to Russian security.
Photo: U.S. Missile Defense Agency/Flickr.com
Waszczykowski’s comments came in an interview with the PAP news agency published on Sunday, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Poland and Romania could find themselves “in the crosshairs” of Moscow over their decision to host NATO missile shield bases.
Waszczykowski told PAP: “President Putin should know perfectly well that the anti-missile shield in Poland has no bearing on Russia's security. This system is to defend Europe against a missile attack from the Middle East.”
Waszczykowski added: “The military presence of the Americans and multinational NATO troops is, however, a response to aggressive behavior and threats to us by the Russian authorities. This will be a presence of a defensive nature and not posing a threat to Russia.”
Poland has been pressing for a stronger NATO presence in Central and Eastern Europe in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
This July, Warsaw will host a NATO summit, and Poland hopes that a considerable consolidation of the military alliance’s eastern flank will be confirmed at the meeting. (pk)
Source: PAP